PEZ COLLECTION (2019-) by MTB/PAMP Certainly one of the more inventive candy products released over the last century, PEZ has spawned an entire worldwide collector's market because of the way it is sold and used. With most other sweets, you buy it, you eat it. Simples, to quote a meerkat. Not so with PEZ. The candy is simple enough, just small blocky hard sweets sold in a packet. But then you put them in a plastic dispenser that, when you push the head, releases one for you to eat. The clever part comes with the [...]

THE ENDURING SOLDIERS by National Bank of Poland Not being afraid to produce long running coin series, the excellent Stanislaw August and History of Polish Coin series being evidence of that, the National Bank of Poland (Narodowy Bank Polski NBP) has embarked on another epic set of silver coins. With tensions higher than normal between Poland and Russia over the Ukrainian conflict, it seems that they felt it was time for a reminder of why there exists such distrust between the two countries on many levels. This series celebrates and remembers some of the brave [...]

MANDALA ART (2015-2024) by Art Mint Launched in 2015, Art Mint's Mandala Art series has continued with a single annual release ever since, growing in sophistication and ambition as time has passed. The series has taken the concept of the mandala, a geometric pattern of squares and/or triangles in a concentric pattern, and applied it to a selection of world cultures, expanding it out from the Sanskrit origins it's most closely associated with. In truth, the mandala style is an ancient one with use throughout history and with a geographically diverse distribution, from Mesoamerica to the [...]

THE MODERN MUSICAL WORLD: A multi-mint round-up of silver and gold coins Despite the prevalence of music in the modern world, there really hadn't been much interest in the numismatic world up until just a few short years ago. Ironically, it was headbangers AC/DC that sparked the modern renaissance, with both the Royal Australian Mint (the band hails from there), and CIT issuing coins for their anniversary in 2018. With licencing being as complex as it is, CIT soon moved onto Iron Maiden, leaving the RAM as the sole AC/DC producer, but it wasn't long [...]

ICONS OF INSPIRATION (2021-) by APMEX While it's true that the majority of bullion coins are themed around national emblems, nature, or popular culture, there remains plenty of room for more unique offerings in a market that has grown in variety over the last decade. One of our favourites is 'Icons of Inspiration', a look at some of the great minds that have influenced human advancement in the past. Launched by APMEX in 2021, each release in the series chooses an individual (or pair in the case of the Wright brothers) and depicts them, usually [...]

COCA-COLA BOTTLE CAPS (2018-) by Crown Mint One of the most iconic brands in history, Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a simple carbonated soft drink invented in the late 19th century. Named after kola nuts and coca leaves, a couple of the original ingredients, Coca-Cola was bought from its inventor John Pemberton, by Asa Griggs Candler, who, through some impressive marketing, turned it into a world dominating product. In 2015, Coca-Cola was said to be the world’s third-most valuable brand, behind Apple and Google, and in 2013 their products were served up in over 200 countries [...]

BRITISH MONARCHS (2022-2026) by The Royal Mint This is one of those releases we always look forward to. The Royal Mint has produced this multi-year programme of coins tapping into Britain’s rich history, in the same vein as recent numismatic hits like the Queen’s Beasts, the Tudor Beasts, and the Great Engravers series. They almost always exhibit sky-high standards of design and execution, and this five-year, 21-coin series, looks to be no exception. Called the ‘British Monarchs Collection’, it will span the Royal Houses of Tudor, Stuart, Hanover, and finally the current mob, Saxe-Coburg, Gotha & [...]

EASTERN CARIBBEAN 8 (2018-) by Scottsdale Mint Scottsdale has been issuing some great limited run bullion coins over the last few years, such as the Cayman Islands Marlin and Hokusai, The Great Wave, and they've now embarked on an eight coin program for release in a single year that will see issues for eight different countries. The eight island nations included in the programme are Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. All these small island nations share a currency and a central bank. [...]

ARCHAEOLOGY & SYMBOLISM (2018-) by Numiscollect Numiscollect have proven themselves not only able to choose a good subject for their collectible coin issues, but also an ability to conceptualise them and bring a fantastic quality finished article to market. We don't need to tell you how popular the ancient world is with coin producers at present, but that doesn't mean that everything has to be a variation on the same theme. Archaeology and Symbolism is a fresh look at some of the core beliefs and iconography of some of the world's great historical empires [...]

MARVEL COMICS: A guide to the Marvel World on coins With the popular culture world driving new collectors into our hobby, it's fair to say the volume of new issues has grown exponentially since the first of the modern wave dropped in 2013. The superhero genre was always going to be part of that, especially since the explosive growth of the two major cinematic universes The biggest of them, indeed the biggest movie franchise of all time, is based around Marvel Comics, and their presence is well and truly pervasive, with several producers around the [...]