Formed in five grams of sterling silver, the first one in this range was touted as being playable, no doubt the reasoning behind 0.925 fineness metal, rather than the softer 0.999 type. Indeed, metal picks are said to have a ‘brighter’ sound, and are used to create a signature sound by such players as Queen’s Brian May. Also hinting at its usability is the pattern grip on both sides, and it follows the basically triangular shape, with its rounded points, perfectly.

This was followed by a slightly bigger one, although doubled in weight. The last release to date was an actual denominated coin in 0.9999 silver, with colouring. Far bigger than the earlier pair, this was definitely one for the numismatic crowd above any practical consideration, unless you like to strum the cello, of course…

One of the best of the traditional coin ranges out there, the Royal Mint’s ‘Music Legends’ series is on its fifth issue at the time of writing. The release is a collaboration with Bravado, a brand management company representing the giant Universal Music Group (UMG). ‘Music Legends’ is to be a series showcasing some of the incredible music talents that have been birthed in the United Kingdom. If the whole series is to be as represented by UMG, that would include such artists as Elton John, George Michael, U2, The Who and Amy Winehouse. Sadly, it also includes the Spice Girls…

The range of formats is extensive, with three silver weights (the smallest coming with a coloured name), and five gold, topping out at over £75k with the one-kilo gold. All are boxed, with a Certificate of Authenticity, and a themed shipper. For those on a budget, or are just casual fans, there’s a base-metal, brilliant uncirculated variant with an unlimited mintage, although the Royal Mint is directly selling the same thing with the coloured logo for a higher price, and that one has a mintage limit of 20,000 pieces.

Elton John has a long history of charitable work through his Elton John’s UK Charitable Foundation, helping over 100 organisations with financial and promotional support, and he and the Royal Mint collaborated to produce this one-off medallion, to be auctioned for the foundation.

Whether you like Elton’s music or not, there’s no arguing this is a simply stunning piece of numismatic art. The reverse design from the proof coin range is brought to life in part-gilded silver and looks phenomenal. The edge of the medallion is also gilded, and carries the name of the foundation. The obverse has five concentric rings of inscriptions listing out his favourite songs, in the centre of which is a gilded area carrying a reproduction of Elton’s signature.

It was auctioned, with a starting price of £12,000, but likely made a good six-figure sum given the musician’s popularity and the industry he works in. The medallion weighs around five kilos, and is a huge 185 mm in diameter. It’s a wonderful idea, and a fantastic testament to the expertise of the Royal Mint and the tireless work of a music legend helping the less fortunate. More here.

The latest Heavy Metal coin from CIT, following their hugely successful AC/DC range, is one depicting another giant of the music world, Iron Maiden. The band’s first appearance on a CIT coin, The Number of the Beast, adorned an Obsidian Black coin, and Senjutsu got a silver coin, a minigold, and a silver foil. They now seem to have settled on the coloured one-ounce silver format.

Iron Maiden is unusual in that a mascot is present on all of their covers – Eddie – and he appears in a hugely varied range of forms. The latest 2024 coin employs smartminted high-relief for a particularly striking look, and there’s also a new silver banknote to match.

It was CIT that first pushed popular music into the limelight with its 2018 issued ‘Black Ice’, a traditional two-ounce coloured silver coin. It wasn’t long before this adventurous producer branched out, however, starting with a 7″ silver foil for ‘Highway to Hell’. At 168 mm in diameter, but only a fraction of a millimetre in thickness, in came in a cardboard sleeve, just how we used to buy our records years ago.

The following year saw the first guitar pick coin, one with a terrific design, and also a gold foil banknote, the iconic ‘Angus Buck’ Through it all, they continued the coloured silver coin, albeit in two differing weights. CIT have since moved on to Iron Maiden, with the Royal Australian Mint now seemingly having sole licencing rights to the band. A very eclectic selection while it lasted.

Such luminaries as VH1, MTV, Rolling Stone, and the music buying public have consistently rated AC/DC one of the greatest music groups of all time. Selling more than 200 million albums over a 45-year period is a phenomenal achievement for any rock and roll band. Formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by Malcolm and Angus Young, their first album was called High Voltage, and while they’ve had some ups and downs in popularity over the following decades, they have a huge following today and continue to record.

Triangle shaped, although heavily rounded to ape a guitar plectrum, the 22.23 gram silver coin is plated in nickel (yes, it has a Nickel back…). The black finish with yellow highlights looks good, and AC/DC fans will recognise parts of the design from the High Voltage album. The packaging is very cool. The box looks like an amplifier and opens up to reveal a bright-red themed interior holding both the coin and an AC/DC guitar pick. The RAM has done a good job with this one.

After a hugely successful release in 2018 for the 45th anniversary, there was no chance the RAM would miss the half-century celebrations for one of Australia’s biggest musical exports.

This time we get an antiqued 12-sided coin, tipping the scales at a little over half an ounce. Packaging is similar to the 2018 coin, but designed to look like a traditional speaker, rather than a guitar amp. Sold out quickly.

Back for a second rock around the clock, the RAM has issued a new silver coin, and another six of the base-metal album covers. If you liked the first run from 2020, you’ll love these, for sure.

Founded in 1975, Motorhead are another absolute behemoth of the music world, and MDM’s first coin, with its antique finish and partial gilding, is a tribute to the band.

The coin should come in a circular tin with the logo below on the lid, and be issued for Barbados, although at the time of writing, this is yet to be confirmed, along with the final design of the obverse.

Stones fans will need no introduction to the ultra-iconic ‘Tongue & Lips’ logo, first appearing on the album ‘Sticky Fingers’ in 1971, so now celebrating its 50th year. It’s hard to believe these guys are still working together and recently became the first band to top album charts in six different centuries decades… The logo, designed by John Pasche, was done on the suggestion of Mick Jagger and was originally meant to ape the Hindu god, Kali, but it
wasn’t long before Jagger himself became inextricably linked with it.

The album cover was voted by VH1 as the greatest of all time, so it’s fair to say it has done its job. The coin replicates the logo perfectly, including the colour on the silver versions. There are two of those – a 10 gram and a 1 ounce, with identical designs. An uncoloured gold version with a 12 gram weight rounds out the options. All are beautifully presented in a themed tin and come with a superb 2 gram, fine-silver Certificate of Authenticity made to look like a concert ticket.

Don’t expect further issues, as the Crown Mint is now defunct, and this series dead.

From their roots in 1960s Liverpool, to being regarded as the most influential band of all time, the Beatles wide, and often eclectic, musical style has earned them legions of fans around the globe. As well as music, they also dabbled in the movies, and between 1964 and 1970, starred in five major films. The fourth of them, Yellow Submarine, is probably the most iconic of them all, despite being animated, and despite their characters being voiced by actors.

The coin is a perfect celebration of the song, and the film, one that Beatles lovers will instantly take a shine to, we’re certain. Fully coloured, beautifully presented, and relatively affordable (it’s 1 oz), this officially licenced coin has popularity written all over it. It comes with a two-gram silver certificate of authenticity. There’s more to come, including designs featuring the evil, music-hating Blue Meanies from the same film, and the Beatles themselves, The range will also expand to include gold coins (1 oz & 12 gram), and 10 gram silver – the possibilities for this licence are endless. A fine debut for Beatles fans.

Ignore the ‘more to come’ part, as the Crown Mint is now defunct, and this series dead.