Launched in 2015, Art Mint’s Mandala Art series has continued with a single annual release ever since, growing in sophistication and ambition as time has passed. The series has taken the concept of the mandala, a geometric pattern of squares and/or triangles in a concentric pattern, and applied it to a selection of world cultures, expanding it out from the Sanskrit origins it’s most closely associated with. In truth, the mandala style is an ancient one with use throughout history and with a geographically diverse distribution, from Mesoamerica to the Euphrates Valley.

The first coin stayed focused on the traditional origins of the mandala and set the design ethos for the series to move forward with. These are three-ounce fine silver coins with an antique finish and an inset mineral at their centre. Each annual issue has a distinct cultural flavour or style, with a different insert each time. We’d consider the series to have two distinct stages. The first three coins have plenty of detail and look great, but it’s with the fourth coin, Moresque, that the series really came alive.

That issue brought with it an enhanced level of relief, with plenty of sharply defined detail – something hugely important on what is essentially a geometric design. The following Gothic and Persian issues are simply stunning in both design and realisation. Each is covered in exquisite detailing that is on a whole other level to the debut coin.

Art Mint issued a special edition to mark the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, sadly almost destroyed in a huge fire that barely saved the age’s old architectural icon. This was limited to just 100 pieces, instead of the usual mintage of 500, and was a reworking of the Gothic release but with the stained-glass reproduction, incorporated to ape the look of Notre Dame’s famous Rose Window. In 2024, that coin was reissued in five-ounce form, and the series was also concluded with a stunning 10th Anniversary coin reproducing all ten coins in the series. A fitting end to one of the most attractive coin series in recent history.