Mint XXI have a fine track record when it comes to coins featuring the evergreen subject of ancient mythology, having embarked on an ambitious multi-sized, 36-coin set called The Great Greek Mythology, amongst others. Last year saw the release of another series in this genre, although one leaning more towards history, than the mystical, and based around the Norse peoples.

The standard of this series to date has been sky-high, in our opinion, and this sixth coin, featuring the legendary Bjorn Ironside, keeps that up. Purported to be the son of Ragnar Lothbrok, this mid-9th century Viking king was said to be the ancestor of the house of Munso, that ruled Sweden until the mid-11th century. He’s particularly well known today through the TV show, Vikings, and in history, for leading a raid into the Mediterranean.

Here, Ironside is seen in battle with a bear, knife in hand, and drawing blood. A powerful image, Bjorn is attired in what we commonly see as traditional Viking warrior garb, with a Mjölnir around his neck, and various runic designs on his clothing. The high-relief is well utilised on this one. The common obverse returns, packed with the appropriate imagery. A terrific series, now halfway through its 12-coin run. There’s a collection folder available, but this one does come boxed with a COA.

The producer’s interesting Solar System series rounds out the eight planets and our own satellite, with the release of the third trio of coins. The concept is simple, pairing a common base design, with a unique mineral orb of around 35 mm in diameter. The mineral is chosen to best represent the actual colour of the planet, while the base silver coin features a ring of the nine planets (well, eight and our moon) astronomical symbols, with each specific one highlighted in yellow.

The big distinguishing feature here is clearly the mineral sphere, and they are, for the most part, perfectly chosen. The Moon uses Labradorite, a coloured feldspar (one of the three core minerals that define granite) named after its type location in Labrador, Canada. The colour and shading really do evoke our closest heavenly neighbour, and it’s one of the best matches in the series overall.

Saturn uses a purple Amethyst, which is a beautiful mineral, but this one is the furthest away from being a true representation of its planet. Saturn has strong cloud bands running around it, and appears more beige, so perhaps something like a travertine stone may have been a better fit. Neptune, however, is far closer given the constraints of minerals available, and the blue Cats-Eye does a good job with Neptune’s more monolithic appearance. A clever series, and one that would display well, we think.