Project Description
STAR WARS: An overview of the New Zealand Mint range from 2016 to date
It was in 2016 that the New Zealand Mint announced it had obtained the licence to produce coins based on the Star Wars movie universe. It had already been issuing coins for Disney, and Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm meant it was only a small step from there to Star Wars. As a universe rich with characters and worlds, there are plenty of subjects for coins and the mint has taken full advantage of that.
The offerings cover proof coins in gold and silver, bullion coins in the same metals, and a newer range of ultra-thin, but ultra-large silver foils. There’s pretty much something for every budget, ranging from $39.00 USD right up to $2,500. many of these ranges are still in progress, indeed the new Star Wars Worlds silver postcard is not yet a week old.
Spread over three pages you can see all that is available to date, and we will keep it updated as new issues appear. The first page concentrates on the traditional style of coins (our favourite), with page two covering coloured issues, and page three the silver foils. Enjoy.
11/08 ADDED ATTACK OF THE CLONES PREMIUM FOIL
12/08 ADDED CLONE TROOPER AND DARTH VADER III BULLION COINS
20/08 ADDED DARTH VADER DIMENSIONAL
17/11 ADDED RISE OF SKYWALKER COLOURED COINS
17/11 ADDED REVENGE OF THE SITH PREMIUM FOIL
17/11 ADDED 2019 SEASONS GREETINGS FOIL
2020
14/01 ADDED THE FORCE AWAKENS PREMIUM FOIL
15/01 ADDED GUARDS OF THE EMPIRE SERIES
15/01 ADDED GOLD VEHICLE SERIES
26/02 ADDED LANDO CALRISSIAN TO CLASSIC STAR WARS
12/03 ADDED STORMTROOPER DIMENSIONAL
21/03 ADDED CLONE TROOPER TO GUARDS OF THE EMPIRE
10/04 ADDED BOBA FETT TO BULLION RANGE
11/04 ADDED EPISODE IV POSTER COIN
18/04 ADDED RISE OF SKYWALKER POSTER COIN
19/04 ADDED THE LAST JEDI PREMIUM FOIL
01/05 ADDED EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 40TH ANNIVERSARY RANGE
14/05: ADDED DEATHTROOPER TO GUARDS OF THE EMPIRE
12/07: ADDED DEATH STAR TO STAR WARS CLASSIC
13/07: ADDED BOBA FETT HELMET
10/08: ADDED MANDALORIAN MYTHOSAUR BULLION
11/08: ADDED GOLD X-WING & TIE FIGHTER
11/08: ADDED PRAETORIANS TO GUARDS OF THE EMPIRE
12/08: ADDED RISE OF SKYWALKER PREMIUM FOIL
26/08: ADDED CHIBI SECTION WITH DARTH VADER
02/10: ADDED 2020 VADER BULLION
02/10 ADDED MISSING FORCE AWAKENS COLOURED COIN TRIO
02/10: ADDED CHIBI CHEWBACCA
30/10: ADDED R2-D2 CHIBI AND T-47 SNOWSPEEDER GOLD
18/12: ADDED TIE ADVANCED GOLD
2021
01/01: ADDED LATEST CHIBI ISSUES
02/01: ADDED DIMENSIONAL 1KG DEATH STAR
01/02: ADDED SEASONS GREETINGS 2020 COIN
04/02: ADDED LUKE SKYWALKER CHIBI
05/02: ADDED THE MANDALORIAN
20/02: ADDED KNIGHTS OF REN
09/03: ADDED FALCON BULLION AND CARA DUNE
09/04: ADDED EXECUTION TROOPER TO GUARDS OF THE EMPIRE
11/04 ADDED THE CHILD AND PRINCESS LEIA CHIBI COINS
12/04: ADDED BESKAR STEEL BULLION BARS
26/04: ADDED HAN SOLO CHIBI
27/04: ADDED IG-11 TO MANDALORIAN
28/04: ADDED CLONE TROOPER HELMET
02/05: ADDED COLOURED STORMTROOPER HELMET
13/05: ADDED ANAKIN SKYWALKER CLASSIC
14/05: ADDED THE CHILD TO MANDALORIAN SERIES
20/06: ADDED OBI-WAN KENOBI CHIBI
23/06: ADDED GALACTIC EMPIRE BULLION
16/07: ADDED SITH TROOPER TO GUARDS OF THE EMPIRE
13/09: ADDED THE MANDALORIAN CHIBI COIN
20/09: ADDED THE MANDALORIAN BULLION COIN
05/10: ADDED THE MANDALORIAN CLASSIC SERIES
06/10: ADDED STAR WARS SEASONS GREETINGS AND TIDIED UP XMAS COINS
07/10: ADDED FACES OF THE EMPIRE SERIES
22/11: ADDED SCOUT TROOPER FACES & BABY YODA BULLION
2022
20/01: ADDED SNOWTROOPER AND DEATH TROOPER TO FACES OF THE EMPIRE
21/01: ADDED BOBA FETTS STARFIGHTER, GROGU SHAPED, THREE CHIBI COINS
23/02: ADDED AHSOKA TANO TO MANDALORIAN CLASSIC, ADDED SCARIF TROOPER TO FACES OF THE EMPIRE
11/03: ADDED PADME AMIDALA CHIBI, ADDED AT-AT WALKER TO NEW STAR WARS HARDWARE RANGE
06/04: ADDED BESKAR BULLION & HOVERTANK PILOT
19/04: ADDED CHIBI YODA; PATROL TROOPER TO FACES OF EMPIRE
07/05: ADDED REBEL BULLION, FENNEC SHAND CHIBI, BOBA FETT COLOURED HELMET
08/05: COMPLETE MODERNISED REFRESH OF LAYOUT
STAR WARS CLASSIC
Called Classic Star Wars, this series of mainly character coins are cleanly struck and very attractive in hand. Packaging is of a fine standard and the whole series just reeks of quality and design integrity.
The 1oz silver variant at 40 mm in diameter is the best at showing off the art. The 1oz gold coin is smaller at 32 mm. A ¼ oz gold version is just 22 mm in diameter, quite a bit smaller. Indeed, in some cases, the mint chose to do a close up of the art on the larger coins. You can see that on the Jabba, Yoda, Stormtrooper and Anakin Skywalker coins.
Beautiful coins and highly recommended. The first issue, Darth Vader, was also made available as a silver coin of one-kilogram in weight. Just 1,977 of these were struck, and no other design has appeared at this 100 mm diameter size.
DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSIONS | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
$2 NZD | 31.1g of 0.999 silver | 40 mm | Proof | 10,000 | YES / YES |
$25 NZD | 7.78g of 0.9999 gold | 22 mm | Proof | 1,000 | YES / YES |
$250 NZD | 31.1g of 0.9999 gold | 32 mm | Proof | 500 | YES / YES |
THE MANDALORIAN CLASSIC
Basically the same specification and concept as the older Classic Star Wars, but with lower mintages.
DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSIONS | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
$2 NZD | 31.1g of 0.999 silver | 40 mm | Proof | 5,000 | YES / YES |
$25 NZD | 7.78g of 0.9999 gold | 22 mm | Proof | 500 | YES / YES |
$250 NZD | 31.1g of 0.9999 gold | 32 mm | Proof | 250 | YES / YES |
STAR WARS HARDWARE
A loose mix of coins, it started out with a simple coloured one-ounce coin for the silver range, but the AT-AT added a huge (for the NZ Mint) five-ounce coloured coin, with the one-ounce reverting to being cleanly struck.
DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSIONS | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
$2 NZD | 31.1g of 0.999 silver | 40 mm | Proof | 2,000 | YES / YES |
$10 NZD | 155.5g of 0.999 silver | 65 mm | Proof/colour | 300 | YES / YES |
$25 NZD | 7.78g of 0.9999 gold | 22 mm | Proof | 150 | YES / YES |
STAR WARS ULTRA HIGH RELIEF
You could consider this the flagship range of Star Wars coins, these take the latest trend of ultra high-relief strikes and applies it to a limited range of impressive designs encompassing both characters and vehicles. Packaging is superb – stylish and of a high quality – and the finished coins are beautifully done. At two ounces in weight, these are obviously pricier than the other silver issues, but well worth it.
Of the six coins issued to date, only the first – Darth Vader – employs colour highlighting. The Han Solo issue was sadly a copy of the Classic design, although obviously better, but the others are unique to the series. The Death Star coin is a little unadventurous, but well struck, and currently the only coin featuring the iconic weapon.
DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSIONS | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
$5 NZD | 62.2g of 0.999 silver | 40 mm | Proof, U.H.R. | 5,000 | YES / YES |
STAR WARS GOLD VESSELS
The rarest of the Star Wars series, each of these vehicle designs is struck in an ounce of 0.9999 gold and has a mintage of just 50 pieces.
Not the most intricate or attractive designs, the appeal of these lies in their scarcity.
DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSIONS | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
$250 NZD | 31.1g of 0.9999 gold | 32 mm | Proof | 50 | YES / YES |
STAR WARS DIMENSIONAL HELMETS
The Star Wars juggernaut has clearly been a big hit for the New Zealand Mint, and only the last six years we’ve seen a huge selection of coins covering all aspects of the movie universe. Encompassing bullion coins, large and small silver foils, coloured coins and a classic series of character coins, there’s something for most budgets. Arguably the flagship range has been the 2oz high relief series, now up to six issues, but the mint is trying something new this time, in format if not in subject. Dimensional.
It seems the NZ Mint is, through German dealer EMK, issuing coloured versions of the helmets with a very limited mintage of 250 pieces. At the time of writing, the first two coins have been given the treatment.
DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSIONS | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
$5 NZD | 62.2g of 0.999 silver | Varies. Approx 49 x 41 mm | Proof, U.H.R. | 5,000 | YES / YES |
STAR WARS BULLION
Covering all their bases, the New Zealand Mint joined the growing bullion coin market with a Darth Vader issue back in 2017. This was joined last year by a Stormtrooper coin and then a second Vader issue. As bullion coins, the quality of strike is obviously less than that of the proof coins, but still of a great quality regardless. Two types of each design on offer, both of an ounce in weight – gold and silver.
The prices of these are very competitive and the casual coin collector will be surprised at how cheap a 1oz silver bullion coin is, coming in at less than a third of a typical Classic Star Wars issue. There’s no box or certificate, of course, but they are supplied in a plastic capsule. Mintages are high, but coins like these do still sell out as many stackers buy these by the tube or even in boxes of 250 coins.
Note the Mandalorian Mythosaur issue has no effigy on the back, but rather the national coat of arms of Niue instead, as has the new Beskar Steel bars in 1oz and 10oz forms.
DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSIONS | FINISH | MINTAGE | BOX / COA |
$2 NZD | 31.1g of 0.999 silver | 40 mm | B/UNC | 25,000 – 250,000 | NO / NO |
$250 NZD | 31.1g of 0.9999 gold | 32 mm | B/UNC | 250 – 25,000 | NO / NO |
The list is missing rey , captain phasma , kylo ren silver coins from episode 7 year of issue should be 2016
Fixed. Thanks
The vader christmas greeting should be 2018 STAR WARS SEASONS GREETINGS FOIL
Excellent list. Fills a need for sure.
I am not easily confused but NZ mint went from the ultra high relief to the dimensional ultra high relief helmets without me noticing it was a different series. Same weight… Same mintage. It wasn’t until the 3rd coin in the dimensional series I realized. They haven’t produced any of the original ultra high reliefs since… personally all the 2oz high relief will be classed a same series.
There are so many different series now that the differences between them are getting smaller and smaller. I just treat the original HR series as an enhanced ‘Classic’ range, while the helmets are distinct with their own style.
Have you seen the Galactic Empire bullion yet?
It’s a dealer exclusive and the description seems to indicate that it is part of a “Symbols of Star Wars Series” bullion sub-series along with the Mythosaur.
Yes, we covered it in early May ( https://agaunews.com/star-wars-galactic-empire-bullion-coin-2021-nz-mint/ ) We only update the guides every month or so. Looks like it will be an interesting series. We did put it in the other article though ( https://agaunews.com/portfolio-items/2017-2019-star-wars-bullion-by-new-zealand-mint/ )
Ah that makes sense. Wow what a fantastic resource this site has been. Thanks for sharing that last link, I hadn’t seen that the bullion series was broken out as it’s own article. Really such valuable guides and information here.