2015+ ESOTERIC CENTRES ANTIQUED by the Perth Mint This guide is a little different to our others in that the subject isn't strictly a consistent series, but a looser collection with a similar design ethos. The two-ounce antique-finished coin has been popular since the Perth Mint issued the first in its Gods of Olympus series - Zeus - back in 2014. The following year, the mint applied the format to something new and different, with its homage to Alice in Wonderland. Each of the coins below has a similar base format, an antique finished [...]

DEADLY AND DANGEROUS (2006-) by the Perth Mint While a pretty standard specification for a Perth Mint series of coins, Deadly and Dangerous captured the imagination of collectors everywhere when the first coin debuted back in 2006. The main reason for this was the striking depiction of a Redback Spider gracing it. Australian wildlife has a deserved reputation for having a varied range of species seemingly dedicated to causing us pain, discomfort and death. A mix of venoms and sheer physical brutality marks out this menagerie of mayhem, so clearly a great subject for a [...]

TUDOR BEASTS (2022-2026) by The Royal Mint We think it’s fair to say that the Royal Mint’s ‘Queen’s beasts’ series has been one of the most popular and admired coin series in recent years, especially in the bullion realm. Tudor Beast’s has an identical base concept. Take ten of the most powerful and iconic heraldic beasts from history, and then have a talented coin designer reinterpret them for a numismatic canvas. The Queen’s Beasts dipped back in time just a few decades, but for this series we’re going back half a millennium for inspiration. Let’s [...]

DUTCH CASTLES DUCATS (2020-2023) by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt We have to go back to 1586 for the birth of the Ducat coin in the Netherlands and to 1659 for its introduction in silver and today, centuries later, they’re still being produced with the same weight, composition and general design, although now for collectors. Spread around the world by the dominance of Dutch international trade, it's an icon of numismatics. The Royal Dutch Mint has long issued modern silver ducats, often in themed sets and following ‘Twelve Provinces’ comes 'Dutch Castles' These are fundamentally different [...]

NUMISMATIC ICONS (2020-) by CIT Coin Invest When coins themed around the ancient world are issued, nearly all have been modern interpretations of old myths. There's a small number that look at the achievements of the first civilisations, but most bury themselves in the rich mythological tapestry, but reimagined by 21st century eyes. In 2020, CIT tipped that idea on its head, by using that same 21st century technology to reinvigorate ancient coin designs. What we're getting with this series is fundamentally an ancients view of their own myths and legends, without several millennia [...]

THE GREAT GREEK MYTHOLOGY (2022-2025) by Mint XXI It’s fair to say the ancient world has been comprehensively mined for inspiration in the coin world, and with a standard of quality that’s sky-high. Such luminaries as CIT, Mint of Poland, Mint XXI, Numiscollect, and more, have issued some quite superb designs over the last few years, but equally, the genre has been blighted with many incomplete and abandoned series, ill-defined in scope, which leave collectors frustrated. However, Mint XXI has launched ‘The Great Greek Mythology’ series, consisting of an ambitious 36 coins, released over [...]

ARMOURED VEHICLES (2022-2024) by the Czech Mint In 2022, the Czech Mint debuted a new four-coin series featuring one of my favourite things – tanks. This isn’t as popular a subject in numismatic circles, with military hardware seemingly less popular than ever, hardly surprising given what’s been going on around the world lately. However, the history of the first half of the 20th century has been a rich source of inspiration for coin issues, and the rise of armoured vehicles a key influence on the direction of warfare in the period. The series is issued [...]

9 DRAGONS (2024) by Mint of MK Although relatively new, producer MK have already made quite a splash with just their first two releases. The first was the size of a dinner plate, and the second actually was one, so we do expect ambitious design when we get news of a new one. We certainly got it with this new Nine Dragons range, and just in time for the Lunar Year of the Dragon in 2024. The series is called '9 Dragons' and takes a selection of Asian dragons of lore, each with a unique [...]

TAROT MAJOR ARCANA (2021-) by the New Zealand Mint For at least 600 years, a pack of cards called The Tarot, have been used to play games across parts of Europe, starting in Italy. However, starting in 18th century France, the cards captured the attention of occultists, and from there, the Tarot deck took on two distinct forms. Today, most interest in the cards is centred around their occult use in divining the future. The deck in this case is made up of 78 cards. Of those, 56 are divided up into four suits, each composed [...]

TEXTURED FINE ART RANGES (2017) by Powercoin Much admired on its debut, especially by us here at AgAuNEWS, Powercoin's first Great Micromosaic Passion coin did something different with the generally conservative fine-art genre. The use of a cleanly defined texture to impart a unique look has lifted the often stale procession of masterpieces coins we usually get, and to great effect. They followed the success of the series with a companion range turning artworks into jigsaw puzzles, which turned out to be equally popular. Recently, we've seen the mosaic series kick-off a second series, [...]