Back at the late January 2015 World Money Fair in Berlin, we were taken back by the unexpected appearance on the Scottsdale Mint stand of a new two-coin silver set based on one of the most highly regarded movies of all time, The Godfather. The images at the bottom of this article are some pictures we took there of what turned out to be the prototypes.

After going quiet for quite some time, we were beginning to suspect the set may never appear for sale, but fast forward eight months and they’ve debuted at long last, albeit in modified form. The weakest part of the prototypes in our view was the portrait of Brando’s Don Vito Corleone on the reverse face of one of the coins. Apparently Scottsdale were of similar mind and have opted to go with a coloured image instead of a clean strike. The second coin remains the same, sporting a latent image in the strike that has the iconic Godfather logo appear against a clean background. When the coin is angled to the right, bullet holes appear in the background, which can be seen in our prototype picture further down. It’s a similar effect to the 2012 Cook Islands World Cup 2014 coin.

The coins remain beautifully presented in a piano-black coin box adorned with the Godfather logo and a Warholesque image of Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone. The shipper is simlar, but now black, but still encloses a certificate with a silver copy of the logo on its front. It still looks to be a nice piece of memorabilia for what remains one of the most popular and respected movie series of all time.

Available to order now from many of the larger coin dealers worldwide for around $200/€200.

THE GODFATHER

Released in 1972 and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather is probably one of the most beloved and highly regarded movies in the history of film. Based on Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name, it tells the story of a New York Mafia crime family between the years 1945-1955. Primarily about the transformation of the youngest son of Mafia Don, Vito Corleone, brilliantly played by Marlon Brando, from a quiet outsider into the ruthless heir to the family.

The descent of Michael into ruthlessness, also brilliantly played, this time by Al Pacino, and his simultaneous rise in the ranks to become the new Don, give this film an edge not seen previously, and rarely since. With a cast including such greats as James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton, it’s a movie that rivets the attention from start to finish.

Made for under $7m, it went on to gross over $250m, and remains in the inflation-adjusted top-25 movies of all time in North America.

SCOTTSDALE SILVER

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Scottsdale Mint have been selling and minting bullion rounds and bars for many years, building up a good and healthy reputation in the process. Selling the usual range of American Eagles and Canadian Maples, along with generic rounds and bars, they also mint their own products and often inject some uniqueness into the market.

Most well known for their Scottsdale Stacker ultra-high relief interlocking bullion round and for the brilliant Tombstone silver bars, they recently made the jump into more high-profile numismatics, kicking off with the highly ambitious, and potentially superb ‘Biblical Series’ of 10 sets of 6 high-relief, antique finish coins to be released over the next decade, the first of which, ‘Exodus’ we’ve already covered.

The Godfather coins signify that they’re getting more serious about the numismatic market, and we look forward to seeing what else they can bring to the market.

THE BERLIN 2015 PROTOTYPES

SPECIFICATION

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION WEIGHT DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE BOX / COA
$2 NIUE 0.999 SILVER 31.1 g 39.00 mm PROOF 5,000 YES / YES