PREHISTORIC LIFE S2 (2024-2027) by Emporium Hamburg Prehistoric Life was a series of twelve coins, issued three-per-year over a four-year period from 2020-2023. Each issue came in three variants, with the primary one being the classic one-ounce silver bullion coin. The others were a coloured version of that, and a half-gram minigold struck to a proof finish. It was popular, no doubt due to a high level of design, and some great subject picks. In 2024, Emporium Hamburg embarked on a second series, called Prehistoric Life II, and it's a direct continuation, carrying over [...]

PREHISTORIC LIFE S1 (2020-2023) by Emporium Hamburg Never let it be said that we don't love a good dinosaur coin here, and that goes double for a keenly priced bullion coin. One of Emporium Hamburg's ranges, alongside the hugely popular Somali Elephant and others, Prehistoric Life debuted in 2020 with, of course, a coin depicting that biggest of dino stars, Tyrannosaurus Rex. The coin looked good, although like many bullion series, early renders were a little crude. Having seen the coin in hand, it's a fine piece. The design, on this and subsequent issues, [...]

WORLD'S WILDLIFE (2019) by Emporium Hamburg There's certainly been an uptick in the number of wildlife-themed bullion series issued for African nations over the last decade. Everything from prehistoric life to all the ecosystems of the world today. Emporium Hamburg have been at the forefront of that with their hugely popular Somali Elephant (African Ounce) bullion range that's well into double figure releases now, and more recent offerings like Prehistoric Life, itself getting a second series. In 2019, they added World's Wildlife to the mix, a series issued for the Democratic Republic of Congo. [...]

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 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, [...]

GERMANIA WORLD BULLION COIN RANGES by Germania Mint While we have full bullion profiles of both Germania, and Allegories, the whole numismatic world that Germania Mint is building is quite a bit wider than that. There are a few currently smaller ranges that are even more interesting, bringing the current total up to five. This summary of them is not meant to be an exhaustive look at them, but rather a collation that you may find useful as a collector. We've always admired what the Germania Mint has built here. These aren't coins per se, as [...]

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 [...]

COLOURED MINTED SILVER BARS (2024) by Scottsdale Mint We've increased our coverage of bullion bars here, mainly due to the recent popularity of Germania Mint's coloured two-ounce cast bars, and we've already written a Bullion Profile to Scottsdale Mint's flag bars. Unlike Germania Mint's coloured offerings, these bars are minted rather than cast, are all an ounce in weight, and an identical size (although the orientation can change from portrait to landscape). This guide will cover everything outside the flag bars, which have their own profile, and at the time of publishing, the releases [...]

FLAG SILVER BARS (2024) by Scottsdale Mint We don't really cover many bullion bars here, mainly because we have our hands full with the denominated coins, but the recent popularity of Germania Mint's coloured two-ounce cast bars has meant we're a little more open to the occasional dabble. Here we are. Scottsdale Mint is a big name in the bullion market, and their latest series seems to be one that would have appeal to the coin collector, perhaps. These bars are minted, not cast, but like the Germania range, have a coloured front face. [...]

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 [...]