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January, 2024

Fact or Fiction: Drop Bear silver coin (2024 Melbourne Coin Company)

Mik Woodgate2024-01-15T21:20:51+00:00January 15th, 2024|

As you know, we love a weird subject here, and what’s weirder than a raging koala dropping out of trees onto the heads of unsuspecting Aussies? The tall tale of the Drop Bear has been around for at least 50 years, and is a staple of Antipodean folklore, right down to the Australian Museum getting in on the joke.

Said to be many times the size of a koala, possibly ginger, and preferring to ambush foreigners rather than Australians, it makes you wonder why they’d invent a creature like this, when the country is full of psychotic fauna anyway! The coin is the second in the ‘Fact or Fiction’, following an unusual ‘Patchwork Platypus’ issue in 2023 – an animal thought to be a hoax, but was actually real.

Depicting a koala, looking not unlike the X-Men’s Wolverine, diving from the trees, it plays perfectly on the myth of the psycho-bear, with colour used to suggest a darkened night. The obverse features a Jody Clark effigy of King Charles III. This one-ounce coin comes boxed with a COA, and has a mintage of just 300 pieces. Available to order now, it should ship in a few weeks time.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	MINTAGE
$2 NZD (Niue)	31.1 g of 0.999 silver	40.0 mm	Proof	300

Holy Crusades: The Prussian Crusades silver coin (2023 Numiscollect)

Mik Woodgate2024-01-10T10:37:08+00:00January 10th, 2024|

We’ve always had a soft spot for the crusades series from Dutch producer, Numiscollect. One of the first coins I ever purchased was the debut issue, and it was the subject of one of our earliest Coin Series Profiles. Initially, it comprised ten coins, following Christian Europe’s attempts to retake the lands around Jerusalem, but a follow on series carried on with the much lesser known crusades that took place in later centuries in other directions.

After a hiatus, the third in that sequel range has launched, and features the Prussian Crusades. We’ve added the coin to our CSP, so all the background is there. The coin follows the earlier style of having an important historical figure in the foreground, and a battle scene behind. It’s always worked well, and that remains the case, with levels of detail higher than ever.

A terrific idea for a series, done with style, for us, it remains as collectible today as it did when it debuted 15 years ago. Available to order now, it comes boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	MINTAGE
$5 CID (Cook Islands)	31.1 g of 0.999 silver	38.61 mm	Antique	1,000

December, 2023

Cassette Tape 60th Anniversary coloured silver coin (2023 World Coin Appreciation)

Mik Woodgate2023-12-12T11:36:31+00:00December 12th, 2023|

Last October, World Coin Appreciation (WCA) released a neat coin shaped like a miniature cassette tape, to honour the memory of Lou Ottens, a Dutch inventor working for the tech giant Philips, who created the cassette system in 1963, and who died in 2021. Now, they’re back with the concept, this time marking 60 years since the invention of the compact cassette itself.

At its core, this two-ounce coin is similar to the Lou Ottens piece, but it’s had a complete makeover. Everything from the central window to the inscriptions are different, but the biggest change is down to the employment of colour on both faces. It’s designed to look like one of the vividly coloured retro-styled cassettes that were hugely popular in the 70s and 80s before Compact Disc gained market share, choosing the look of a compilation tape.

If you liked the first issue, you’ll like this one, and it’s a neat homage to something long consigned to history, and less likely to return, given it lacks vinyl’s audio quality, and the convenience and capacity of digital. Only 333 of these will be struck, and it should be available to order now.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	MINTAGE
$2 NZD (Niue)	62.2 g of 0.999 silver	33.0 x 48.0 mm	Proof	333

WORLD COIN APPRECIATION

Britannia bullion variants and Platinum (2024 The Royal Mint)

Mik Woodgate2023-12-08T16:38:36+00:00December 8th, 2023|

A giant in the bullion world, the Royal Mint Britannia, with its Philip Nathan designed depiction of the British female personification, has been a mainstay of the bullion world for over 35 years. Like most major bullion coins, the one-ounce weight class in gold and/or silver, is either the only size available, or by far the most popular.

That doesn’t mean it stops there, and the Britannia has had many other weights over the years. The mint has just issued the latest batch. For the ultimate version, there’s a silver kilogram, and for those wanting to dabble in stacking, there are tiny one-quarter, and one-tenth silver coins. Coming in early 2024 will be a ten-ounce variant, which we think is a fine compromise size, giving up little in diameter over the kilo. For the more adventurous, there’s a pair of 0.9995 platinum versions, one an ounce, and one a tenth, the latter hitting the market early next year.

All have the latent image, micro-text, tincture lines, and perceived surface animation, that make this coin one of the most secure, and hardest to counterfeit in the bullion world.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	MINTAGE
£500 UKP (United Kingdom)	1,005.0 g of 0.9999 silver	100.0 mm	Bullion	Unltd
£10 UKP (United Kingdom)	312.6 g of 0.9999 silver	89.0 mm	Bullion	Unltd
£0.5 UKP (United Kingdom)	7.78 g of 0.9999 silver	22.0 mm	Bullion	Unltd
£0.2 UKP (United Kingdom)	3.15 g of 0.9999 silver	16.5 mm	Bullion	Unltd
£100 UKP (United Kingdom)	31.21 g of 0.9995 platinum	32.69 mm	Bullion	Unltd
£10 UKP (United Kingdom)	3.13 g of 0.9995 platinum	16.45 mm	Bullion	Unltd

Hot Wheels Twin Mill 1oz silver coin (2023 MTB / PAMP)

Mik Woodgate2023-12-06T23:18:59+00:00December 6th, 2023|

It was 55 years ago that Elliot Handler, and his company, Mattel, introduced a new brand of model cars called ‘Hot Wheels’. First off the line, and part of what is called the ‘Sweet 16’, was a dark blue custom Camaro, and it’s probably an understatement to say that Hot Wheels became a success from this small start. It was huge.

In 1969, an ex-Chrysler employee, Ira Gilford, came on board, and one of his first designs (the first done completely in-house) went on to attain legendary status. It was called Twin Mill, and a huge hit, leading to that ultimate accolade in 2001 – recreation as a real vehicle, a race car with 1,400 horsepower!. Still popular to this day (a new cartoon is due to debut in 2024, and possibly a film!), over 20,000 different designs have been produced, and collectors pay thousands for rare models.

With a history like that, it’s incredible it’s taken the numismatic industry so long to tap into that market, but MTB/PAMP have done so with that iconic Twin Mill. One of the producer’s many shaped coins, this is a neat reproduction of the iconic original, and is struck in an ounce of fine silver. There’s lots of attention to detail, not least of which is the packaging, designed to ape the original rack display packs. MTB/PAMP has done another fine job with its homage to a popular product. Available to order from today, it has a mintage of 3,000.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	MINTAGE
$2 (Solomon Islands)	31.1g of 0.999 silver	64.6 x 29.6 mm	Prooflike	3,000

MTB PAMP

November, 2023

Camelot: Arthur Pendragon Bullion Edition 1oz silver coin (2023 Asturmint)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-30T04:02:15+00:00November 30th, 2023|

We’ve seen a few high-end coins make the transition to bullion over the last couple of years, but it still remains a relatively uncommon thing. A recent offering was the White Horse, from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse series, put out by the Carpathian Mint, although without a real denomination. Some of the backers of that mint (from Silvercoins Europe) have gone out on their own to create Asturmint, and moving forward, their releases will now move to this new producer. They have eight series in progress, including the licenced ‘Dragonlance Chronicles’ franchise.

One of those was the Camelot series, of which we’ve seen Arthur Pendragon, and Sir Lancelot, of the twelve that the range will comprise. Arthur was actually the second coin ever released by SCE, and the first they’ve chosen for the bullion coin treatment. The design has actually made the transition to bullion with ease, looking excellent. The background has been simplified, losing the castle landscape scene, and replacing it with a bullion staple – the sunburst lines, giving it a bit of added dynamism.

We particularly like the obverse, which seems to be a natural for this format, and will remain common for the series, we believe. It also retains its status as a Niue denominated coin issue, which we know many will appreciate. The mintage of 10,000 pieces is also just about right. All together, a great debut for them. Check out their new website for the current catalogue, and some hints on what might be coming next.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
$2 NZD (Niue)	31.1g of 0.999 silver	38.61 mm	Matte, Prooflike	10,000

ASTURMINT

Year of the Rabbit Silver Keyring version 1/4oz bullion (2023 Coin’s Today)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-22T17:17:39+00:00November 22nd, 2023|

A year ago, Coin’s Today debuted their faceted, low-poly Lunar Rabbit stackable bullion round, like most of their stackables, in two-ounce form. Since then, we’ve seen a Lunar Dragon version hit the market, at a similar size, and with a similar style. In a surprise move, the South Korean producer has now reissued the design in quarter-ounce form.

This in itself is not unusual, as they’ve recently released half-ounce variants of some of their best stackable designs, but in this case, it’s been released in the form of a keyring. Given how popular the lunar animals are in Asia, and their association with good fortune, it seems a clever way to get these mascots into people’s pockets.

Done in the same antique finish as its bigger brother, the Rabbit comes ready to attach to your keys, or wherever you want to hang it. It should be quite cheap, and the unlimited mintage means availability should be good. An unusual way to shrink a bullion product, but why not? No doubt a dragon will come next year, especially if this one is popular.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	MINTAGE
Undenominated	7.78g of 0.999 silver	Approx. 32 x 39.5 mm	Antique	Unlimited

The Penguin & Sabine Wren Chibi silver coins (2023 New Zealand Mint)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-21T12:34:48+00:00November 21st, 2023|

Chibi continues its relentless pursuit of market domination with a pair of new issues for two of the biggest franchises that make up the broad range. The first is the 16th in the DC Comics subset, and features one of Batman’s most popular adversaries, The Penguin, complete with monocle and dapper suit.

The second is from the Star Wars Universe, and while there have been dozens of those, this is the first issued under the ‘Ahsoka’ banner. That’s logical, of course, as they’ve also done Andor, Book of Boba Fett, and The Mandalorian, as well, but Ahsoka herself was released as a part of the core Star Wars subset. The Star Wars franchise has become ill-defined of late. This one depicts Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian from that show. Not the most compelling of characters, that’s hardly the NZ Mints fault, and they’ve done a great job with the Chibi, as always.

As has been the trend with the 2023 issues, there are randomly inserted gilded variants, making up 200 of the 2,000 mintage in each case. The contents of the box are hidden, so you won’t know what one you get until it’s opened. You can see more of these two, as well as the 150 plus other issues, in our comprehensive Coin Series Profile of the range.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
$2 NZD (Niue)	31.1g 0.999 silver	Approx. 36 x 30.0 mm	Proof, colour	2,000

Ultimate Fighting Championship 30th Anniversary silver coin (2023 New Zealand Mint)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-16T21:53:20+00:00November 16th, 2023|

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation, hosting competitive events worldwide. Established in 1993, the UFC has become the pinnacle of MMA, showcasing elite fighters from various disciplines. Fighters compete in a caged octagon, employing a combination of striking and grappling techniques. The UFC has gained global popularity for its intense, unpredictable bouts, across multiple weight classes, including heavyweight to strawweight, and champions are crowned in each division. UFC events often draw significant pay-per-view audiences.

As it’s now 30 years since its inception, the New Zealand Mint has produced a celebratory coin, shaped like, and adorned with, the organisation’s logo. There isn’t any more to it than that, to be honest. It’s one for the legions of fans, and does exactly what it sets out to do. Struck in an ounce of silver, it comes well packaged, as you’d expect from this mint, and has a 1,993 mintage.

That isn’t all, however, and the mint has plans to bring UFC to their hit Chibi range, and December 12th will see five fighters get ‘Chibified’, all with the now standard, randomly inserted, gilded variants. More on those nearer launch. In the meantime, if you want this one, please click the banner for them below, as we get a small commission from the sale at no cost to you, or we’ll send Conor to pay you a visit…

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
$2 NZD (Niue)	31.1g 0.999 silver	31.5 x 53.0 mm	Proof, colour	1,993

World of Cryptids Yeti & Wendigo silver coins (2023 Lithuanian Mint)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-15T21:48:09+00:00November 15th, 2023|

A quick, and final heads up that the in our view, outstanding ‘World of Cryptids’ series, based on the work of Lithuanian artist, Laimutė Varkalaitė, is drawing to a close. The Lithuanian Mint has released the final two coins for order. Released through 2023 at the rate of about one-per-month, it takes a left field look at some of the world’s countless weird creatures of myth and legend.

You can see all the coins in the set in our full Coin Series Profile, so we won’t repeat it all again. Go check out the guide, we think you’ll like it. They can be bought direct from the Lithuanian Mint HERE, or from various dealers for €119.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
$2 NZD (Niue)	31.1g 0.999 silver	40.0 mm	Antique, colour	1,000

LITHUANIAN MINT

The Mandalorian Mythosaur Emblem shaped silver coins (2023 New Zealand Mint)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-13T19:51:51+00:00November 13th, 2023|

2023-NZM-Mandalorian-Mythosaur-Ag155-COIN

Another new Star Wars series from the New Zealand Mint has debuted, this time taking the shaped, antique-finished format from the ship-shaped series, the latest of which is Bo-Katan’s Gauntlet Starfighter, and applying it to an emblem. The coin features the Mandalorian Mythosaur, popularised in the hit TV show, and likely to become a more important thing moving forward.

Like the vessel series, there are two variants, but unlike the vessels, the choice here is 2 oz or 5 oz, instead of 1 oz and 3 oz. While the extra metal is helpful, we feel this coin is a step up from the ship designs simply because the use of high relief adds a sense of dimensionality that is missing from those. There still remains little detail on the sides of the coin, but we reckon this is the mint’s best release of this type to date.

The Mythosaur logo has appeared on coins before, most notably back in 2020 on a bullion coin, so nice and cheap, but this release is on a whole other level, of course. Nicely presented, and with reasonable mintages, we can see The Mandalorian fans taking to this one. Available now, with retail prices of $199, and $499 respectively.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
$5 NZD (Niue)	62.2g 0.999 silver	40.0 x 52.0 mm	Antique, shaped	1,999
$10 NZD (Niue)	155.5g 0.999 silver	50.0 x 65.0 mm	Antique, shaped	499

2023-NZM-Mandalorian-Mythosaur-Ag62-COIN

The Phoenix 1 oz silver coin (2023 T&S Coin)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-11T00:44:40+00:00November 11th, 2023|

New producer, T&S Coin, have been impressing us lately with a high quality selection of new releases, all sporting a fine sense of style, mainly based around an antique finish, with, in all but one case, gilded highlights. All of them have also tipped the scales at two-ounces, but that doesn’t mean that every coin will fit that pattern.

Recently released is this one-ounce silver coin, eschewing the gilding for a very impactful vintage colour application. It’s a very attractive design, featuring one of the most visually appealing creatures in mythology – the Phoenix. The depiction is beautifully done, full of extravagant flourishes, showing us a creature born in fire. It’s clean, simple, and very effective.

One thing the coin does share with the rest of the portfolio is that pretty common obverse, differing only in some of the inscriptions in the border. Again, it’s all very attractive, and immediately marks the coin out as a T&S production. As always, there’s a box, and a certificate of authenticity. The mintage is capped at 1,000 pieces, and it’s available to order now.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
$2 NZD (Niue)	31.1g 0.999 silver	40.0 mm	Antique, colour	1,000

Australia’s Most Dangerous: Tiger Snake bullion coins (2024 Royal Australian Mint)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-07T14:00:59+00:00November 7th, 2023|

It’s a snake. It lives in Australia. Those two facts should give you pause for thought, as it’s highly likely a nip from it will have you meeting your maker. That is indeed the case, and the Tiger Snake (the name is a clue!), sports a venom consisting of, not just neurotoxins, but also coagulants, haemolysins, and myotoxins. Almost 1-in-5 snakebites in Oz are down to this critter, which given it injects between 35-65 mg of venom when it bites, and only 3 mg is needed to have a human pushing up the daisies, is quite concerning.

A pretty animal, often banded in yellow and black, it’s found over Southern Australia and Tasmania, able to swim and climb trees, but preferring to hunt on the ground, especially around fresh water. They generally grow to around 1.2 m in length, and are able to have up to 60 young at a time, so the snake is quite plentiful. I’m sure the local population is overjoyed…

The coin is the fifth in the Royal Australian Mint’s ‘Australia’s Most Dangerous’ bullion series, surprisingly the first reptile to join the range, although we suspect the Saltie will arrive soon. It’s been a super series to date, and the Tiger Snake keeps up that standard. Mintages are quite limited for a national mint, with 25,000 silver, and just 250 gold, both an ounce in weight. The obverse still has that memorial Queen Elizabeth II effigy. Both versions are available to order now. We’ve added it to our comprehensive summary profile of recent RAM bullion.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
$1 AUD (Australia)	31.1g 0.999 silver	40.0 mm	Brilliant uncirculated	25,000
$100 AUD (Australia)	31.1g 0.9999 gold	38.74 mm	Brilliant uncirculated	250

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN MINT

Wheat Field with Cypresses 1889 2.5 oz silver coin (2024 Precious Metal Collectors)

Mik Woodgate2023-11-06T23:15:33+00:00November 6th, 2023|

Singapore-based producer, Precious metal Collectors, has a heavy presence in the fine art coin genre, and by heavy presence, we don’t just mean in the number of releases. Utilising their Bi-Metal minting technique, whereby silver is placed over a solid copper core, the end result was coins in the kilo weight class, but containing only 1–5 ounces of silver, with the obvious cost benefits.

Having recently reorganised, they haven’t abandoned the process, but actually improved it. Now called Tri-Metal, it has a 120 gram copper base, over which is a 750 gram zinc centre, with 2.5 ounces of fine silver on top. The result is a huge coin at a relatively affordable price, giving up nothing in aesthetics.

PMC have returned to the works of Vincent van Gogh for this release, featuring Wheat Field with Cypresses, painted in 1899 while he was staying at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Provence, after admitting himself for help with his life-long mental struggles. His trademark swirls of vibrant colour are all present, and it’s rightly considered one of his best loved works.

Just 399 of these will be struck, and each comes attractively boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity. We’re glad that PMC have decided to continue this range. Hopefully, they’ll also continue the historical busts’ series as well.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
10,000 Francs CFA (Chad)	78 g 0.999 silver, 750 g Zinc, 120 g Copper	165 x 125 mm	Antique	399

PRECIOUS METAL COLLECTORS

October, 2023

Flora and Zephyr high relief silver coin (2023)

Mik Woodgate2023-10-27T19:38:52+01:00October 27th, 2023|

Currently residing in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Mulhouse, in France, Flora and Zephyr is a painting by the artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau, completed in 1875 using oil-on-canvas. It depicts the Ancient Greek god of the west wind, Zephyr, embracing and kissing Chloris, a nymph. Chloris was known as Flora in Ancient Rome, hence the title.

Unusually, and quite handily, the original painting is circular, so the coin manages to pack the whole thing into its boundary, rather than crop it, as is the case with most pieces of art on coins. Zephyr has butterfly wings, and the original is a riot of colour. The coin takes a more classically numismatic route of giving the art some high-relief, and employing antique finishing instead.

We only have renders at present, but clearly, the design is a fine adaptation of the original art. The obverse carries a portrait of the artist, Bouguereau, surrounded by the usual issue inscriptions. All together, a nice release for the fine art fan, and one that follows this producer’s Leda and the Swan release from a few months ago. Not many dealers have these, but we noted Coins & More has it in stock.

DENOMINATION	COMPOSITION	DIMENSIONS	FINISH	LEP MINTAGE
2,000 Francs CFA (Cameroon)	62.2 g of 0.999 silver	50.0 mm	Antique	500

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