The Death Star returns in silver and gold as part of Niue’s long running Star Wars Classic series.

This isn’t the first time the iconic Imperial battlestation, the Death Star, has appeared on a coin as part of the New Zealand Mint’s extensive Star Wars range. In September 2018, the moon-sized instrument of destruction featured as the subject of a 2oz ultra-high relief silver coin, with a suitably healthy price tag. It’s back as part of the mints long-running Star Wars Classic series in cheaper form, and also in gold, which isn’t…

There are very few changes in design for these new variants, despite dropping half their weight. The diameter is even the same on the silver version, although it’s fair to say the level of detail and relief is less. ironically, the slightly cruder look of this one actually suits the coin better. The gold sibling is exactly the same, although only hits 32mm in diameter. If you missed out on the original high-relief issue, this is a great substitute, but it’s a little disappointing that more wasn’t done to refresh the design the second time out.

The silver coin has a mintage of 5,000 pieces, with the gold capped at 500. Packaging isn’t as lush as the original coin, but we’ve no complaints on the quality of the mints standard presentation anyway. Available from today, the silver has a RRP of $89.00 USD, with the gold hitting $2900.00 USD. Check out the NZ Mints huge Star Wars range in our Thematic Guide.

THE DEATH STAR

Death Star is the name of a number of fictional mobile space stations and galactic superweapons featured in the Star Wars space opera franchise. The first Death Star is stated to be more than 100 km to 160 km in diameter, depending on source. It is crewed by an estimated 1.7 million military personnel and 400,000 droids. One blast of its superweapon delivers energy comparable to that released by the Sun in an entire week. The second Death Star is significantly larger, between 160 km to 900 km in diameter depending on source, and technologically more advanced than its predecessor. Both versions of these moon-sized fortresses are designed for massive power projection capabilities, capable of destroying multiple naval fleets or entire planets with one blast from their superlasers.

The first Death Star is depicted in various sources of having a crew of 265,675, as well as 52,276 gunners, 607,360 troops, 30,984 stormtroopers, 42,782 ship support staff, and 180,216 pilots and support crew. Its hangars contain assault shuttles, blastboats, Strike cruisers, land vehicles, support ships, and 7,293 TIE fighters. It is also protected by 10,000 turbolaser batteries, 2,600 ion cannons, and at least 768 tractor beam projectors. Various sources state the first Death Star has a diameter of between 140 and 160 kilometers. There is a broader range of figures for the second Death Star’s diameter, ranging from 160 to 900 kilometers.