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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

FINE ART BI/TRI-METAL MAX (2021-) by Precious Metal Collectors It was back in 2020 that Precious Metal Collectors, along with designers Spectres, debuted their Bi-Metal Max technique. While we usually just roll our eyes when we hear buzz-words like this, in this case, it really makes a difference. The problem with big silver coins - those of kilo-plus weight - is cost, with the typical one-kilo numismatic often emptying the wallet to the tune of 2,500 Euro, or more. This leads to producers not wanting to take on the risk of making such coins, [...]

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 of bias [...]

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 [...]

MINT. TRADING COINS (2023-) by the New Zealand Mint Called Mint Trading Coins, they basically take the age-old swapping idea from baseball and bubblegum cards, and applies it to silver coins. Each range consists of 51 coins depicting characters from a specific media franchise. So far, we had Star Wars as the first series, and Marvel Comics as the second, with DC Comics dropping as the first of 2024. So far, of the set of 51 coins, 50 are one-ounce silver, with one a quarter-ounce gold. The coins are sold in a sealed black box which [...]

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 [...]