Princess Leia headlines the NZ Mints latest Classic Star Wars coins

The New Zealand Mint’s flagship Classic Star Wars series continues onwards with the debut of the fifth character to be featured. Following on from Darth Vader, Han Solo, Yoda and R2-D2 comes another pivotal character in the movie canon, Princess Leia. Gradually whittling  down the major players in the movies, we’re still left with some big ones to come like Luke Skywalker, C3-P0, and Chewbacca, along with Emperor Palpatine himself. How many of these will be released as part of this range we don’t know yet, but R2-D2 isn’t the last coin to come.

Following a pattern set out in previous releases, there will be three main formats available. In silver there’s the obvious one-ounce proof. In gold there’s both a one-ounce and a quarter-ounce proof. All carry identical artwork with no tweaking for the smaller coin like they did for the Yoda entrant. To date, only Darth Vader has been struck in a Deathstar-sized one-kilo coin and that came not at launch, but later on. Its absence from later subjects would seem to indicate a lack of demand at that size.

This is another fine looking coin, one that takes an iconic scene as its inspiration. The image of Leia placing the Death Star plans in R2-D2 is one that essentially kicked off the main story, so its importance to fans is obvious. Other than the coins composition and the usual ridiculous copyright statement that all big media companies insist upon, the reverse face is free of inscription. The obverse is a standard NZ Mint/Niue affair, with the Queens effigy surrounded by the date, issuer and denomination. Mintages remain at 10,000 for the silver, with the gold at 1,000 for the ¼oz and 500 for the 1oz.

Packaging has always been a strong point for this mint, and even though there’s little of the old extravagent designs of a few years ago, the boxes remain of a high quality. Prices have not changed at US, $85.00 for the silver, $600.00 for the smaller gold, and $2,500 for the larger.We have to say that the NZ Mint have done a sterling job with this series to date. We plan to photograph some of these for an AgAuSHOOT, as the official images really do no justice to the finished article. Keep an eye out for that. The Leia coins are up for sale today.

GOLD & SILVER REVERSE FACE

MINTS DESCRIPTION

After its release in 1977, Star Wars captured the head and minds of a generation around the world.

The beautiful Princess Leia Organa is a symbol of diplomacy, strength, and hope within the Rebel Alliance. While serving as the youngest member of the imperial Senate, Princess Leia secretly leads the struggling Rebellion in their mission to overthrow the Galactic Empire.

After being captured and forced to witness the destruction of her homeworld, Leia continues to place her dedication to the Alliance above her own personal needs and safety. She makes a new family within the Rebellion and with her rescuers, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Soon, the Princess develops feelings for Han and begins to display a tender warmth previously hidden beneath her brave exterior.

During the Battle of Endor, the Princess discovers Luke to be her twin brother, separated at birth to protect them from their father, the villainous Darth Vader. Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi had placed them in hiding because he knew that if Vader’s offspring were allowed to realize their latent Force abilities, they would be the only hope in returning peace and order to the galaxy. Through this realised potential and strong resolve, Leia helps the Rebellion succeed in bringing the Empire’s tyranny to an end.

This stunningly engraved coin features Princess Leia Organa hiding plans for the Death Star in R2-D2. Presented in a high-quality Star Wars branded and stylized inner coin case and themed outer coin packaging, this coin would make an excellent gift for Star Wars fans or collectors.

OBVERSE & PRESENTATION

BACK STORY

PRINCESS LEIA

Princess Leia Organa is a princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance. She was introduced very early in the first Star Wars film back in 1977 where shehelps steal the plans to the first Death Star. She later commands a rebel base and remains a key member of the Rebel Alliance until the destruction of the second Deat Star over Endor.

The sister of Luke Skywalker and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker, later Darth Vader, she married Han Solo. One of their children became Kylo Ren, a powerful member of the Empires replacement, the First Order.

THE COIN SCENE

The scene depicted on the coin is one of the first in the whole Star Wars movie series. In it, Princess Leia is hiding the plans to the Empires new Death Star, a superweapon that can destroy entire planets with a single shot, in the astromech droid R2-D2.

Shortly after ensuring that R2-D2 and C3-P0 escaped to the planet Tatooine below, Leia was captured by Darth Vader and taken aboard his Star Destroyer. She was later rescued by her brother Luke with help from Han Solo and Chewbacca.

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SPECIFICATION

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION WEIGHT DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE BOX / COA
$250 NEW ZEALAND 0.9999 GOLD 31.1 g 32.0 mm PROOF 500 YES / YES
$25 NEW ZEALAND 0.9999 GOLD 7.78 g 22.0 mm PROOF 1,000 YES / YES
$2 NEW ZEALAND 0.999 SILVER 31.1 g 40.0 mm PROOF 10,000 YES / YES

MINT LINK