LIMITED NON-CORE BULLION COIN SERIES by the Perth Mint I think few would disagree with the observation that the last few years has seen a virtual explosion in new bullion coin releases. Whereas we used to have a base of big guns, like the American Eagle and the Maple Leaf, and a scattering of smaller mintage coins (Somali Elephant, Rwandan African Ounce, etc), we now have a huge selection of low mintage issues, often with attractive, annually changing designs. It's arguably the Perth Mint that laid the groundwork, with its combination of highish mintage, [...]

LEGENDARY WARRIORS (2023-2026) by T&S Coin and Pinehurst Coins T & S Coin have quickly built up a fine reputation with their range of silver coins over the last couple of years. They're mainly known for their selection of two-ounce, high-relief, antique-finished coins, all designed in-house, and they cover subjects from mythology, history, and literature. They do have a small selection of their own warrior coins, but in conjunction with North Carolina based US dealer, Pinehurst Coins, their biggest endeavour to date is Legendary Warriors.This is a 15-coin series, each of which will feature someone famous [...]

FINE ART BI/TRI-METAL MAX (2021-) by Precious Metal Collectors It was back in 2020 that Precious Metal Collectors, along with designers Spectres, debuted their Bi-Metal Max technique. While we usually just roll our eyes when we hear buzz-words like this, in this case, it really makes a difference. The problem with big silver coins - those of kilo-plus weight - is cost, with the typical one-kilo numismatic often emptying the wallet to the tune of 2,500 Euro, or more. This leads to producers not wanting to take on the risk of making such coins, [...]

TWELVE APOSTLES (2025) by Mint of MK After Mint of MK’s extraordinary 36-coin dragon series of high-relief coins, that comprised nine designs, each in four finishes, and the 12-coin 'Twelve Zodiac Signs' with its innovative dual-UV process, we expected a new epic series from this experimental producer. That series is 'Twelve Apostles', which like its forebears, has had a relatively quick release schedule, and an unusual and varied style. As you can tell from the title, this is about the famous 12 biblical men who are said to have followed Jesus, all but one [...]

NATIONAL PARKS OF JAPAN 100TH ANNIVERSARY (2024-2031) by Japan Mint While not the most prolific, or adventurous of the issuers of national coinage, the Japan Mint has always done an exceptional job encapsulating Japanese culture and geography. Indeed, one of the first Coin Series Profiles we ever did was for their excellent '47 Prefectures' series, which ran from 2008-2016. The mint's latest series is very much in the same vein, but in this case, it's a 34-coin celebration of Japan's national park system, which will hit a century in age in 2031, when this series [...]

TWO-OUNCE CAST SILVER BAR PROGRAMME (2024) by Germania Mint First appearing in early 2024, Germania Mint debuted a new two-ounce silver cast bar featuring some very striking artwork, and a set series length. Entitled simply 'Goddesses', it mined the rich vein that is Norse mythology for inspiration. It was a huge hit, if auction prices are any indicator. The mint started a programme allowing for other producers to have their own custom designs made in the same format, and while it's still new at the time of writing, it looks like it's going to [...]

LUNAR YEAR COLLECTION (2019) by CIT Coin Invest The Lunar market seems to have cooled somewhat over the last couple of years, a good thing given the ridiculous numbers issued annually just half a decade ago, Fortunately, the mints have taken the opportunity to heart, with a noticeable increase in quality. The Perth Mints iconic Lunar Series reached its third go around last year and introduced a vastly better look, as did the Royal Mint. In our view, the best new introduction of the last few years has been CIT's superb fully dimensional coins, part [...]

THE MODERN MUSICAL WORLD: A multi-mint round-up of silver and gold coins Despite the prevalence of music in the modern world, there really hadn't been much interest in the numismatic world up until just a few short years ago. Ironically, it was headbangers AC/DC that sparked the modern renaissance, with both the Royal Australian Mint (the band hails from there), and CIT issuing coins for their anniversary in 2018. With licencing being as complex as it is, CIT soon moved onto Iron Maiden, leaving the RAM as the sole AC/DC producer, but it wasn't long [...]

STAR WARS: An overview of the New Zealand Mint range from 2016 to date It was in 2016 that the New Zealand Mint announced it had obtained the licence to produce coins based on the Star Wars film universe. It had already been issuing coins for Disney, and Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm meant it was only a small step from there to Star Wars. As a universe rich with characters and worlds, there are plenty of subjects for coins, and the mint has taken full advantage of that. The offerings cover proof coins in [...]

MARVEL COMICS: A guide to the Marvel Universe on coins With the popular culture world driving new collectors into our hobby, it's fair to say the volume of new issues has grown exponentially since the first of the modern wave dropped in 2013. The superhero genre was always going to be part of that, especially since the explosive growth of the two major cinematic universes The biggest of them, indeed the biggest movie franchise of all time, is based around Marvel Comics, and their presence is well and truly pervasive, with several producers around the world [...]