DC COMICS: A guide to the DC Universe on silver and gold coins With the popular culture world driving new collectors into our hobby, it’s fair to say the volume of new issues has grown exponentially since the first of the modern wave dropped in 2013. The superhero genre was always going to be part of that, especially since the explosive growth of the two major cinematic universes One of the biggest of them in numismatic circles has been DC Comics, with its super-iconic pantheon of characters, headlined by Superman, and Batman. Multiple mints [...]

THE MODERN MUSICAL WORLD: A multi-mint round-up of silver and gold coins Despite the prevalence of music in the modern world, there really hadn't been much interest in the numismatic world up until just a few short years ago. Ironically, it was headbangers AC/DC that sparked the modern renaissance, with both the Royal Australian Mint (the band hails from there), and CIT issuing coins for their anniversary in 2018. With licencing being as complex as it is, CIT soon moved onto Iron Maiden, leaving the RAM as the sole AC/DC producer, but it wasn't long [...]

MARVEL COMICS: A guide to the Marvel World on coins With the popular culture world driving new collectors into our hobby, it's fair to say the volume of new issues has grown exponentially since the first of the modern wave dropped in 2013. The superhero genre was always going to be part of that, especially since the explosive growth of the two major cinematic universes The biggest of them, indeed the biggest movie franchise of all time, is based around Marvel Comics, and their presence is well and truly pervasive, with several producers around the [...]

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 [...]

HARRY POTTER: A multi-mint overview of the Wizarding World on coins It was with some surprise that i noticed Harry Potter coins appearing from just about everywhere. It;s a popular franchise as we know, but one that has been fairly quiet over the last couple of years, with just the occasional Fantastic Beasts movie keeping it alive. So what's been going on? No idea! We felt it was time to get a grip on what is out there and from where, given the obvious popularity of it, but it turned into a far bigger task [...]

STAR WARS: An overview of the New Zealand Mint range from 2016 to date It was in 2016 that the New Zealand Mint announced it had obtained the licence to produce coins based on the Star Wars film universe. It had already been issuing coins for Disney, and Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm meant it was only a small step from there to Star Wars. As a universe rich with characters and worlds, there are plenty of subjects for coins, and the mint has taken full advantage of that. The offerings cover proof coins in [...]

ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY: An overview of Mint of Poland struck 2oz high-relief coins Ironically raised to popularity by the Perth Mint with its debut Gods of Olympus series, the ancient world coin genre has taken to the two-ounce, antique-finished, rimless, high-relief silver coin format like no other. Although employed by several producers, it is the Mint of Poland that has made, not only the most numerous, but also the best use of this excellent compromise between weight and cost with a range of, quite frankly, stunning issues. There are numerous series currently in progress, with [...]

V.E. DAY 75TH ANNIVERSARY: An overview of gold and silver coin issues After several years of a numismatic commemoration for the centennial events of the First World War, we’re now firmly within the realms of the 75th anniversary memorials for the Second. An even bigger swathe of destruction swept around the globe for the rematch, with hardly a region in the world completely untouched. It’s fair to say that the First World War had a predominantly European focus, but the Second World War was a fight against two tyrannies simultaneously – linked more by [...]

MOON LANDING 50TH ANNIVERSARY: An overview of gold and silver coin issues Welcome to our round-up of the precious metal coins issued to commemorate the epic Apollo 11 mission to land a man on the Moon. There are fewer ways to commemorate an event for posterity than a coin, and none more likely to survive the test of time than one struck in gold or silver. Most of the world's big mints and coin producers have invested much expertise in marking the occasion, many with huge success. This is an eclectic mix. There are [...]

D-Day 75th Anniversary coins in silver and gold Codenamed Operation Neptune, the largest seaborne invasion in history and the start of Operation Overlord took place on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 when a huge Allied force began the liberation of German-occupied France. The culmination of a years planning, and even then, it was almost scuppered by the weather, D-Day encompassed an assault on five beaches – Gold, Juno and Sword by British & Commonwealth forces, with Utah & Gold by the US. Starting with an extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault, Allied troops [...]