[Exclusive!] Take me to your dealer! 1950’s inspired alien invasion silver coin lands on Earth

While we all love the inventive and ultra high quality ancient mythology coins that are emanating from CIT and the Mint of Poland, it’s cool to have something different land in our laps from time to time. The antique-finished, two ounce rimless silver coin format is an excellent one, not just for gods and mythical beasts, but  for other subjects as well. This new US struck release couldn’t be further away from the deities of old – burying itself in the legends of modernity.

Called ‘Alien Invasion’, this new issue for the Republic of Chad depicts a classic 50’s inspired invasion of Earth by a red-eyed Alien and his fleet of laser-blasting flying saucers. The design obviously takes cues from the golden age of invasion movies and is all the better for it. Clawed, humanoid and with exposed musculature, it could easily pass for a guy in a rubber suit and we love that.

The background is filled with a scene of urban devastation and the alien figure in the foreground has red eyes formed from a pair of ruby-red Swarovski crystals. Mercifully, this face is devoid of annoying inscriptions. The obverse features the coat of arms of the Republique du Tchad, one of the African nations increasingly finding favour in the modern commemorative coin market instead of the usual Oceanic island states. The cartoony UFO with its (tractor) beam blasting out from below it is almost like a spotlight on the coat of arms.

Shipping in a wooden box with colourfully themed surround and certificate, there will only be 500 of these minted for sale worldwide. Available from next week, keep your eye on the usual dealers of this coin format, as we suspect they’ll see the potential inherent in something as fresh as this. We suspect you might as well…

ALIEN INVASIONS

From before H.G. Wells wrote his iconic novels and continuing to this day, science fiction has remained one of the most popular and inventive genres in the world of popular culture. From the enigmatic tripod war machines in War of the Worlds, right through to such modern classics as The X-Files, the Unidentified Flying Object has been a central lynchpin in the mystery of life on other planets coming to visit us.

One of the truly classic decades for the sci-fi movie market has to be the 1950’s, so hinted at in the design of this new coin. Such brilliant classics as The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing From Another World, The War of the Worlds, and Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, are just a few of the cool films to have emerged into the post-war world, no doubt fuelled by Cold War paranoia.

You had to wait until 1979 for the release of one of my all-time favourite movies before the genre was brought kicking and screaming into the modern age. The release of Ridley Scott’s  phenomenal feature film, Alien, made every big screen creature passé overnight, but the kooky fun of the 1950’s and 1960’s has become sorely missed as modern CGI continues to make possible that which could only have been dreamed about at the time, but often with little charm or character.

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION 10,000 Francs CFA (Republic of Chad)
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 62.2 grams (2 t.oz)
DIMENSIONS 50.0 mm
FINISH Antique
MODIFICATIONS High-relief, 2 x red Swarovski crystals
MINTAGE 500
BOX / COA Yes / Yes