TOKELAU SEALIFE (2014-) 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 [...]

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, they added [...]

LIMITED BULLION COIN SERIES by the Royal Australian Mint It wasn't that long ago that the Royal Australian Mint was nowhere near being the first mint you thought of in the bullion world, but the proliferation of low mintage designs over the last decade has tempted them to jump in. As a result, the last few years have seen a big uptick in activity, and it shows little sign of slowing down soon. What we've produced here is a summarised round-up of the various series that the RAM has put out in recent years, [...]

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 [...]

LIMITED NON-CORE BULLION COIN SERIES by the Perth Mint I think few would disagree with the observation that the last few years has seen a virtual explosion in new bullion coin releases. Whereas we used to have a base of big guns, like the American Eagle and the Maple Leaf, and a scattering of smaller mintage coins (Somali Elephant, Rwandan African Ounce, etc), we now have a huge selection of low mintage issues, often with attractive, annually changing designs. It's arguably the Perth Mint that laid the groundwork, with its combination of highish mintage, [...]

LIMITED SILVER BULLION SERIES by Scottsdale Mint One of the most prolific and inventive producers of silver and gold bullion coins today, Scottsdale Mint release a wide range of such coins, mostly with a relatively restricted mintage, and most with a design that changes for every issue. Keeping up with the various series and individual issues is a task in itself, so we've put together this overview of the output of legal tender bullion coins from the last few years. Now, this isn't a full on Bullion Coin Profile that we do elsewhere, and [...]

2017+ CHINESE MYTHS AND LEGENDS by the Perth Mint Similar in theme to their Rectangular Dragon bullion series, one that ironically started around the same time, the Perth Mint's 'Chinese Myths and Legends' series pairs the legendary Chinese dragon with another powerful beast - real or imagined. Like the rectangular series, this one is also available in both silver and gold. The style here is consistent and has at its centre the iconic flaming pearl of Chinese mythology. Two creatures arc their way around it, seemingly posturing for dominance. The first release used the [...]

AUSTRALIAN EMU (2018+) by the Perth Mint Never let it be said that the Perth Mint doesn't know how to do a bullion coin featuring one of the wild and wonderful creatures that populate their homeland. Building a solid reputation on the backs of their now seminal Koala, Kookaburra and Kangaroo ranges, they've branched out with renewed vigour into the limited mintage bullion market with a range of distributor exclusive series. This one here is handled by Metal Market EU in Europe and is called 'Australian Emu'. Launched in 2018, it's recently enjoyed a [...]

AUSTRALIAN SHIPWRECKS (2019-2021) by the Royal Australian Mint Quite the surprise on its debut, the Royal Australian Mint's new Australian Shipwrecks bullion coin featured a couple of design choices not normally associated with this traditionally conservativbe mint. Quite apart from the fact the RAM had only recently jumped into the bullion market with both feet, after years of just dabbling, the choice of a triangular format was a brave one. The first time we've seen a triangular denominated bullion coin from anyone, that alone gives this series some kudos amongst collectors. The theme of [...]

2016+ CHISELLED EDGE ANCIENTS by Scottsdale Mint While we often see new and unusual subjects on modern bullion coins, we don't often see something different in the format sense. In 2016, Scottsdale Mint debuted the first of its new Egyptian Relics series. These were quite unlike anything else on the legal tender market. Available initially only in a five-ounce format, they keep a diameter similar to a standard one ounce coin, choosing to employ all the extra weight on increasing the thickness. There's nothing unusual in that, of course, but instead of a standard bound [...]