TOKELAU SEALIFE (2014-2024) by APMEX/Highland Mint A twelve-coin bullion series that issues a single design every year, Tokelau Sealife debuted in 2014 to a mixed reception. Buyers seemed to like the design, but there were soon comments regarding the quality of the prooflike coin circulating around the forums. This resulted in a change to a satin finish, seen as a way of minimising the look of flaws. Fortunately, the series quality picked up rapidly, keeping the satin finish until 2020. Fortunately, the series, which looks at sealife around the Oceanic island nation Tokelau, has a [...]

GERMANIC RUNES (2023-2026) by Germania Mint They say that simple ideas are almost always the most effective, and this bullion offering from Germania Mint is a perfect example. Take a lump of silver, stamp it with a character, and if done right, you have something packed with symbolism, and just a little different. What Germania Mint has done is exactly that, and the characters they’ve chosen for the task fit into their themed historical world perfectly – Germanic runes. Germanic runes are an ancient system of writing that predates the Latin alphabet. These angular, enigmatic characters [...]

BRITISH MYTHS & LEGENDS (2021-2025) by The Royal Mint Displaying an obvious talent for putting 'Britishness' on a coin, The Royal Mint has a quite extensive range of bullion offerings in production, quite the change after decades of just Britannia and Sovereign. Heraldry, history, and iconography make up the bulk of them, but the stories of Britain's past are also a fertile breeding ground for ideas. Launching in 2021, Myths & Legends was eventually meant to tell four stories from the nation's extensive literary past, and do so over twelve coins, with each story getting [...]

BLACK FLAG (2019-) by the Perth Mint Who doesn't love a pirate coin? We've seen quite a few in the bullion world, most notably the New Zealand Mint's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series, based on the Disney film franchise, and 'Pirate Queens' from the Royal Australian Mint. Both of those are now defunct, so it falls to the Perth Mint's 'Black Flag' to keep the skull and crossbones flying. Launched in 2019, it debuted with one-ounce silver and gold variants, as well as a five-ounce silver coin, all with a brilliant uncirculated finish. In 2022, [...]

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 at [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

AFRICAN BIG FIVE (2019-) by the South African Mint The African Big Five are a popular subject on coins and foils. Considered the five most dangerous animals on the continent for hunting on foot, each of them stand out in their environment, even the herbivores. The Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Elephant, and Cape Buffalo are all quite capable of killing humans and frequently do. The Cape Buffalo, in particular, seems to have a mean streak a mile wide. The Big Five bullion coin programme was meant to be a simple, but quite intense one. Starting with the [...]