2020 JAMES BOND: THE CRAIG ERA by the Perth Mint

You have to feel sorry for Daniel Craig and the Bond movie team. Due to premiere in April 2020, everyone’s most hated virus soon put the brakes on the release of the 25th movie, ‘No Time To Die’. At the time of writing, the new release date of November was again kiboshed, so we’ve got to wait until April 2021 to get to see it. Fortunately, Bond has seen considerably more activity in the numismatic world, with a series of issues from the Perth Mint, and a fine range from the Royal Mint as well.

The latest is a new series of five issues from the Perth Mint, depicting the Craig-era movies, and we like them a lot. Silver foils have been considerably quieter this year than in 2019, when releases came thick and fast. That’s a shame, as the format has many benefits when it comes to certain genres, and the movie poster is one of them. These foils are in the smaller five-gram format that was popularised by others like the New Zealand Mint, CIT and MDM. That makes them big enough to look great on a shelf, yet cheap enough to be eminently affordable. It’s a very coherent and classic set, and with 007 a perennial favourite, a well timed release.

Nobody would say these are ambitious pieces. The artwork is already done and well known, but the movie memorabilia market is huge. The thing about movie posters, is that they’re also huge, so having a high-quality and distinctive miniature replica like these is hugely appealing. Each is sealed in acrylic and has a box that makes display easy, as you can see below.All are limited to just 1,000 pieces each.

JAMES BOND 007: THE DANIEL CRAIG ERA

When it was announced that Daniel Craig had won the role for the next Bond movie, there was a less than general concensus on the suitability of the choice. The 38-year old actor had some fine performances under his belt, but was relatively low key for a role as iconic as Bond. Nevertheless, it took only one movie to convince audiences that his selection was perfect, and he has gone on to carve himself out an excellent reputation as the legendary British secret agent (who tells everyone his name…)

His last movie has been in coronavirus release hell for months now, and it’s just been announced that it will be delayed again, until April 2021. ‘No Time To Die’ looks to be a super entrant into the canon if the trailer is a reliable indicator, and will hopefully cement Craig as one of, maybe THE best Bond of them all.

BOND 21: CASINO ROYALE: Released in 2006, it went on to make over $600m against a budget of $150m. Directed by Martin Campbell.

BOND 22: QUANTUM OF SOLACE: Released in 2008, it made almost $600, but with a bigger budget ($200m+). Directed by Marc Forster.

BOND 23: SKYFALL: Premiered in 2012, it made a staggering $1.1b on sub-$200m budget. Directed by Sam Mendes and a critical success.

BOND 24: SPECTRE: Debuted in 2015, it had a bigger budget ($250m+) and made $880m. Also directed by Sam Mendes.

BOND 25: NO TIME TO DIE: With a budget said to be circa $250m and directed by Cary Joju Fukunaga

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION None
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 5.0 grams
DIMENSIONS 148 x 98 mm
FINISH Brilliant uncirculated
MODIFICATIONS Colour
MINTAGE 1,000 per design
BOX / C.O.A. Yes / Yes