Project Description
2020 CHIBI COLLECTION by the New Zealand Mint
A phenomenon that has travelled far from its Japanese homeland, Chibi (ちび or チビ) is slang for short and is applied to various pop culture genres today. Chief amongst those are the small, chubby caricatures with their small bodies and over-sixed heads – also called super-deformed (SD). A popular style in anime and manga, and also with the Funko figures that are seemingly everywhere these days, we’re actually surprised the concept has taken this long to hit the numismatic world.
If anyone was going to do it, it would be pop-culture innovators the New Zealand Mint, who have an extensive catalogue of media franchises under their wing. These are perfect subjects for the Chibi treatment and the first to get reimagined was cult superhero, Batman. Rather than go with the dour character from the excellent Nolan movies, the mint sensibly took a more comic-orientated approach, with some similarities to the style popularised in the camp Sixties TV series. The follow up coins are equally whimsical and manage to be both an extreme caricature, and easily recognisable.
This was the first of the DC Comics Chibi Collection, which was soon joined by a Harry Potter series, and then a Star Wars one. Each coin is numbered as part of its own collection, rather than as a unified Chibi series as a whole. Given the accelerated release schedule, that’s probably a wise decision. At the time of publication, there are five issues available, with two coming from Potter, two from DC and one from Star Wars, and there’s another DC character imminent. Amazingly given the near $100 USD price tag per coin, the mint has plans to issue eleven coins in the next twelve weeks. Uniquely, the mint has teased silhouettes of the upcoming issues, which we’ve had a go at identifying, but bear in mind they’re our guesses (except for Flash, and some are obvious).
Each shaped coin has a standard obverse design. The usual Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II and the surrounding inscriptions marking this out as a Niue issue. The presentation is also as neat as you would expect from a mint known for the quality of it, the box allowing for easy display and being heavily themed for each issue. It’s a 1 oz fine silver coin and has a mintage of 2,000 pieces. Early releases have sold very briskly, with Batman and Darth Vader particularly showing some excellent initial price appreciation. It is possible the intensive release schedule might harm that a little, but it remains to be seen. An excellent idea, expertly realised and quite unique. Couldn’t really ask for more.
NOTE: The coins are listed in order of release, but each header is colour-coded to which of the three series it belongs. (Blue = DC, Purple = Potterverse, Green = Star Wars)
A cool design that taps into the love for Adam West’s camp 1960’s version, but with a healthy nod to the comics themselves. To be honest, the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan versions are a little dark for this concept.
It seems that Harry Potter is a little less popular than the other two, if early indicators are correct, but that’s probably because the franchise is a bit quiet at present, with just another Fabulous Beasts movie on the horizon. Whatever the case, there’s no arguing with the interpretation of Harry Potter here.
Again, this follows Batman in mining the comics far more than the modern movie version of the character, but with a little of the Lynda Carter TV version thrown in for good measure.
A big hit and sell out on release, it’s easy to see why. A fantastic realisation of the character, although we can’t help but compare it to Mel Brook’s legendary take on the character with his Dark Helmet from the movie, Spaceballs.
It seems that the world of Potter is harder to distinguish than the others. That’s fair enough given they’re working with fundamentally normal humans in terms of appearance. Nevertheless, instantly recognisable as Hermione.
Pretty neat design, definitely inspired by the comics instead of the TV and movie incarnations.
A surprise second issue in the Star Wars range, Chewbacca is certainly distinct enough in appearance to not be confused with any other character. The bandolier is a nice distinguishing touch.
A character with little representation in the coin world, despite its long history. We’re going to put that down to a poor showing in the movie world with the otherwise solid Ryan Reynolds headlined movie being a total bomb. Hopefully, this interesting superhero will get more exposure in the future. The coin is bang on.
Love Star Wars, or hate Star Wars, you’ll have heard of the dinky white wheelie bin, R2-D2. One of the few characters to show up in pretty much every franchise movie, fans love it, and we’d predict the coin will go out as quickly as Darth Vader did so.
Dumbledore is the fourth character and the first to actually look a bit more distinctive than a normal human figure.
This is one of the most iconic characters in any of these three ranges and has a distinctive look that translates well to Chibi. Unfortunately, the chance of getting a squad of these to go with Darth Vader is pretty remote as this will likely be a quick seller.
Superman is one of the most easily recognisable characters in the DC Universe, so it’s good to see the character well served by the Chibi process. The cape was a giveaway with the silhouette teaser and it looks good here.
Another distinctive character that has taken to the Chibi treatment well, Hagrid has always been a fan favourite. This will make a top addition to the Wizarding World Chibi coin collection.
Could this be the biggest hit to date? With the iconic bounty hunter having a resurgence in popularity due to an appearance in the hit show, The Mandalorian, this brilliant little chibi design is perhaps the best to date.
Moving from heroes to villains is a good move for the DC Comics series, given they tend to be far more interesting characters, The iconic Joker is the first to join the line-up, and the sixth in the DC range to date. It’s a pretty cool adaptation, and one likely to prove popular.
Who better to follow The Joker than his main squeeze and partner in crime, Harley Quinn. A minor character to begin with, she is now one of the most iconic and popular of all the villains in the world of Gotham, no mean feat given the competition. The Chibi benefits from Harley’s signature look to create one of the best of the series to date.
2021 STAR WARS: LUKE SKYWALKER ? (coming 26/01/21)

2021 HARRY POTTER: SEVERUS SNAPE ? (coming 26/01/21)

2021 DC COMICS: CATWOMAN OR BATGIRL ? (coming 09/02/21)

2021 HARRY POTTER: VOLDEMORT ? (coming 09/02/21)

2021 STAR WARS: YODA (coming 23/02/21)

2021 HARRY POTTER: BELLATRIX LESTRANGE ? (coming 23/02/21)

2021 STAR WARS: PRINCESS LEIA (coming 09/03/21)

2021 HARRY POTTER: SIRIUS BLACK ? (coming 09/03/21)

2021 DC COMICS: AQUAMAN ? (coming 23/03/21)

2021 HARRY POTTER: DRACO MALFOY ? (coming 23/03/21)

SPECIFICATION
CHIBI COLLECTION |
|
DENOMINATION | $2 NZD (Niue Island) |
COMPOSITION | 0.999 silver |
WEIGHT | 31.1 grams |
DIMENSIONS | approx 31 x 36 mm |
FINISH | Proof |
MODIFICATIONS | Colour, Shaped |
MINTAGE | 2,000 per design |
BOX / C.O.A. | Yes / Yes |
So far these Chibi coins have proven to be incredibly popular with collectors. All of the guesses here regarding the upcoming Chibi coins seem pretty spot-on. We are expecting the Boba Fett coins to sell out pretty quickly. Not so sure about Albus Dumbledore and Hagrid, but only time will tell!
Darth Vader was by far the quickest Chibi to sell out on our website, but we still have several other Chibis left in stock!
I’ve heard complaints from some dealers that they can’t even get them! I think Potter is less popular simply because the movies and books have been quieter over the last couple of years, plus the characters are considerably more ‘normal’ looking than the others.
That’s a fair point. DC Comics and Star Wars have both been spotlighted in recent years with new feature films. The Harry Potter universe did have some recent success with the Cursed Child play and the Fantastic Beasts series….but its success has most likely been overshadowed by the other two franchises.
Maybe if the mint produces a Dobby or Hedwig Chibi the Potterheads will get more excited…!
Harry Potter’s first book was published in June 1997, so his fans may not yet be the age to spend $99 each month on a coin.
Its not boba fett its cyborg and i think its not joker but han solo
Nice try, but I still think the original is correct. Definitely Boba Fett
Check the feet. Pointy ones are DC, flat are star wars, rounded are harry potter. It is Boba Feett, although cyborg is coming in the next few months I think, as is catwoman, yoda, etc.
One more per month for The Lord of the Rings?
Don’t know yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it took off after Harry Potter runs out of the bigger characters. Might even see The Mandalorian this year.