VIDEOGAMES ON COINS: A multi-mint round-up of gaming and numismatics Video games have grown from the weird little hobby of the far-sighted few, to a mainstream juggernaut that drawfs the movie and music industries. It’s easy to understand why. Other forms of entertainment generally involve soaking up someone else's vision, but gaming allows you to control the narrative personally, to a quite extraordinary degree in some modern titles. From early, pixelated beginnings, to today's AAA titles, video games have muscled in on the formerly sedate entertainment industries, with a huge variety of game types, like [...]

FAMOUS HISTORICAL BUSTS (2022) by Precious Metal Collectors We were extremely impressed when Precious Metal Collectors, most widely known for their silver over copper 'Bi-Metal Max' issues, debuted a new two-ounce silver coin in the shape of Abraham Lincoln. Eschewing any trickery, this was a solid silver coin, issued for the Republic of Chad, that was simply antique-finished. The star of the show was the incredible job that had been done, bringing a two-dimensional representation of a person into a three-dimensional piece of silver. We suspect the coin was released to test market reaction, and [...]

ALLEGORIES (2019-2023) by Germania Mint What better way to expand the notion of Germania as the personification of a historic people than to have her stand alongside other, more well-known examples. Allegories seeks to pair her with the elegant women that symbolise other nations around the world, and there are plenty of them to choose from. The choice of the very well known Britannia to launch the series was a master-stroke, and it's opened up the series to figures that many may be more unfamiliar with. To date, we've seen Britannia, Columbia, Italia, Austria, and Polonia, but [...]

GERMANIA (2019-) by Germania Mint National personifications in female form have a long history with the numismatic world. Marianne in France, Liberty in the USA, Helvetia in Switzerland, Hibernia in Scotland and, of course, the ancient Britannia in the UK, have all come to encapsulate the popular image of a country by using the striking imagery of a woman in classic pose. Now it’s the turn of ancient era Germania to have its past encapsulated by a lady in a dress. Germania has a long history in various forms, the female personification gaining much popularity [...]

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 tiny bodies and over-sized 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 [...]

2013-2024 TREASURES OF STANISLAW AUGUST by Narodowy Bank Issued by the National Bank Of Poland (NBP), also known as the Narodowy Bank, Treasures of Stanislaw August is a rare gem along the lines of the Monnaie de Paris' superlative From Clovis to Republic series. Whereas that series took a modern designer, Christian Lacroix, and reinterpreted the styles of history for a modern, themed look, this series is firmly rooted in a historical source. The last king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was Stanislaw August Poniatowski, and around 1790 he instructed a pair of talented medallists, [...]

MOMENTS OF LOVE (2019) by Mint XXI It isn't often we see a subject like sex featured in its own coin series. Hinted at perhaps, but not front and centre (no pun intended...). If you're going to do it respectfully, then showcase the classic text on the subject, the Indian work, Kama Sutra. This is an ancient text, tracing its roots back well over 2,000 years, and sets out the ways to garner maximum pleasure from the act of procreation.Mint XXI is no stranger to nudity on its coins, offering some superb examples of ancient [...]

EVOLUTION OF LIFE (2015) by CIT Coin Invest Back in 2007, the Liechtenstein-based coin producer Coin Invest Trust, issued a hit coin for the National Bank of Mongolia. The debut coin in a new series called Wildlife Protection, it went on to win the prestigious Coin of the Year award in 2010. That series went from strength to strength and every issue has been widely applauded for its quality and most importantly, its design. Sadly now ended, although Numiscollect are reimagining them in conjunction with CIT as fully dimensional coins, we were fortunate to [...]

LUNAR YEAR COLLECTION (2019) by CIT Coin Invest The Lunar market seems to have cooled somewhat over the last couple of years, a good thing given the ridiculous numbers issued annually just half a decade ago, Fortunately, the mints have taken the opportunity to heart, with a noticeable increase in quality. The Perth Mints iconic Lunar Series reached its third go around last year and introduced a vastly better look, as did the Royal Mint. In our view, the best new introduction of the last few years has been CIT's superb fully dimensional coins, [...]

ARCHANGEL MICHAEL by the National Bank of Ukraine Not the most commonly known coin, but certainly one worthy of attention, the Archangel Michael is issued by the National Bank of Ukraine and is legal tender in that country. First issued in 2011 in one silver and two gold sizes, they were quickly followed up by two more gold fractionals the following year, to make a full five-coin range. One of the most powerful and respected figures in many religious teachings, the Archangel Michael is considered to be the patron saint and protector of both Ukraine [...]