It wasn’t so long ago that meteorite coins were a recurring feature of the numismatic calendar, with heavyweight producers like CIT, Numiscollect, and Mint XXI adding their talents to the genre. Most were silver coins with a fragment of various recorded meteorites embedded within them, like Germania Mints brilliant offering, but a select few went further than that, being formed entirely from meteorite fragments that have impacted the Earth.

One of the biggest ever recorded happened in the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Russia. Landing on 12 February 1947 just north of Vladivostok, the iron meteorite entered the Earth’s atmosphere at an estimated speed of 31,000 mph (14.5km/s), the largest mass breaking up in a violent explosion just 5.6 km (3.5 miles) above the ground. In total, approximately 23 tonnes of material hit the ground, some fragments burying themselves six metres underground. As a result, there’s plenty of material to make a coin like this.

The latest meteorite coin from Allcollect is not a continuation of their previous range that included Muonionalusta, Campo Del Cielo, Aletai, Seymchan and Nantan. The design here is wholly new, depicting an astronomer viewing an incoming shooting star through a telescope on a starry night. The colouring, which is also UV sensitive, although we have no images of that effect, is well done, showing an admiral restraint by keeping it realistic, rather than overdoing it. The most amazing thing about it is the texture of the metal. These are cut from meteorite, not melted and reformed like a silver coin would be. They bear the scars of their long existence and harsh experiences, with each one having a unique look.

Issue for Niue, that Pacific island nation’s Public Seal sits in the centre of the obverse, surrounded by the inscribed issue details. The coin comes boxed with a COA, and just 476 will be produced. A super coin, dripping with character, and steeped with an almost impossible to comprehend history. It’s pricier than a silver coin would be, but this one is special. Available to order now.