2019 STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION by New Zealand Mint

Another of the New Zealand Mint’s many silver foil series featuring their numerous licenced media franchises, Star Trek Next Generation has itself appeared previously on a pretty neat Juan Ortiz penned ‘poster’ set, but the set we’re looking at here is a sequel to the Star Trek Original Series character foils released a last year.

Each of the five-gram, 150 x 70 mm silver foils is in a banknote ratio format, and carries a common obverse (these are denominated as a coin, unlike some other foils, even from this mint). The obverse is a mix of engraving and brightly coloured imagery, but the basic style has been used before with good success with both the Star Trek and Star Wars universes. Indeed, Disney and Magic the Gathering can also be added to that list.

There are six foils in this set and they have an obvious visual appeal to fans of the series. You could argue with some justification, that the whole foil/coin-note market is aimed more at the memorabilia market, than at traditional coin collectors, although there is obvious crossover with many coin enthusiasts also showing interest in banknotes.

Each foil depicts a character as coloured art to the left, and as engraved screenshot to the right. Simple, but effective. The obverse carries the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II (these are issued for Niue), surrounded by the kind of swirling, intricate pattern you would commonly find on a banknote.

The presentation on these is first class. The stiff-backed album is a sturdy and well designed item, and it’s supplied completely free of charge with the first issue – in this case, Captain Picard, but is available nowhere else. Subsequent issues are provided in just a simple paper sleeve, with the expectation that the collector will simply insert them into the album. Each foil is sealed to prevent damage, and the whole idea is expertly implemented. Each issue sells for $39.00 USD, and they are all now available.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

Running for seven years between 1987 to 1994, at the time it was one of the most eagerly awaited television series in history and passed through early quality issues to become widely admired in the genre. It remains the most watched of all the Star Trek series and eventually 178 episodes were shot before the cast moved on to make several movies. The show was very popular, reaching almost 12 million viewers in its 5th season, with the series finale in 1994 being watched by over 30 million viewers.

The third series in the Star Trek franchise, it is the second sequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet starship, the USS Enterprise-D, in its exploration of the Milky Way galaxy.After the cancellation of The Original Series in 1969, the Star Trek franchise had continued with Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–74) and a series of films, all featuring the original cast. In the 1980s, franchise creator Roddenberry decided to create a new series, featuring a new crew embarking on their mission a century after that of The Original Series.

The Next Generation featured a new crew that starred (for the majority of its seven-year broadcast run) Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker, Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge, Marina Sirtis as counsellor Deanna Troi, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, and a new Enterprise.

OBVERSE

PACKAGING

Obviously, these are far larger than a coin and capsules aren’t really an option for the ultra-thin coin note format, so the New Zealand Mint decision to provide an album for the series is a fine one. Stiff covered and provided with a slipcase to hold it, the album is fully themed throughout and contains a two-page spread for each issue – one side carrying a description of the coin, the other holding the coin safely and securely.

One important point to note however, the album is completely free with the first coin, but will not be available separately and will not be provided with any other coin. If you’re going to buy the set, you’ll definitely want to make sure you get the first Captain Picard issue.

SPECIFICATION

DENOMINATION $1 New Zealand
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 5.0 grams
DIAMETER 150 x 70 mm
FINISH Brilliant uncirculated
MODIFICATIONS Colour
MINTAGE 10,000 each
BOX / C.O.A. Album / On coin