The latest Heavy Metal coin from CIT, following their hugely successful AC/DC range, is one depicting another giant of the music world, Iron Maiden. This isn’t the band’s first appearance on a CIT coin, as The Number of the Beast adorned an Obsidian Black coin, and Senjutsu got a silver coin, a minigold, and a silver foil.

Iron Maiden is unusual in that a mascot is present on all of their covers – Eddie – and he appears in a hugely varied range of forms. For the single Eddie the Trooper, from the 1983 album, ‘Peace of Mind’, Eddie is shown in full British Redcoat battledress. A great piece of art by the band’s regular artist, Derek Riggs, it makes for a good-looking coin for the Maiden fan.

The latest two-ounce Jurassic Park coin from the Coin Company, ‘Raptor Country’ is a rectangular piece designed to look like a warning sign. This is actually a release for the latest film in the franchise, Jurassic World Dominion, which is the sixth overall, if I remember correctly.

It looks neat enough, especially with the raptor claw marks running across it, which is a neat touch. The presentation is first class, and it’s a decent companion piece to their earlier T. Rex Zone release.

A new series in the New Zealand Mint’s seemingly endless procession of Star Wars coins, Battle Scenes, launched in May with the fan favourite Battle of Hoth, from Empire Strikes Back. Now it’s back with a considerably smaller and more personal battle – the one between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

The fight occurs in the prequel trilogy, on a volcanic world, so the colouration is bright and bold, and ringed by character portraits. A three-ounce coin, it’s a pricey piece compared to their usual Star Wars releases, but the franchise fanbase is more than big enough to mop up the 1,000 strikes.

Forty years old, GI Joe: A Real American Hero, is an icon in the toy world, Owned by the giant Hasbro corporation, the original 12-inch (30 cm) line consisted of realistic figures for the various branches of the US military. In 1982, the range expanded with a new range of smaller 3.75-inch (9.5 cm) scale figures, along with a selection of vehicles and playsets. They introduced a fictional enemy – Cobra – which is still used in the latest movies. The figures are also sold in the UK under the Action Man brand.

The coin draws from the mints experience with comic coins by using the cover art of the 1982 comic, GI Joe #1. It’s the perfect encapsulation of the brands style and appeal, so we can’t argue with the choice. The presentation is as good as you’d expect from the NZ Mint.

Faces of the First Order is the new companion series to the earlier Faces of the Empire, and has an identical style. Each release depicts a helmet used by the baddies in the Star Wars films, and after Kylo Ren, this second issue features the First Order Stormtrooper. They’re well done, but the series is becoming very repetitive in style. Including the first series, this is the eighth white helmet of similar style, and they’re all beginning to merge together.

If that doesn’t bother you, these are as well presented as ever, and building into a comprehensive look at one part of the giant Star Wars universe.

Wonder Woman is the sixth in a series of one-ounce silver coins reproducing the logos of some of DC Comic’s most iconic heroes. Each is shaped, with colour highlights where necessary. Some fine presentation, of course.

The third and final issue in the relatively new Star Wars Vehicles series, the AT-ST Walker is depicted here in at the Battle of Hoth from the second movie, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. As before, a three-ounce coloured silver, a one-ounce silver, and a quarter-ounce gold make up the formats on offer.

We already have the first MDM minigold in our comprehensive Thematic Guide to Harry Potter coins, and now it’s the time for a second edition. Titled the Winter Gift coin, it features Harry Potter with his owl, Hedwig. Considering the diminutive dimension of just 11 mm, there’s a lot of detail packed in, and the credit-card sized packaging looks perfect. We always find these tiny coins look lost in traditional boxes, so this is a great alternative.

A big tradition at the New Zealand Mint, the Season’s Greetings range began with Disney offerings back in 2014, and it’s continued to this day. In 2018, Star Wars joined the range, with a highly unusual, ‘Merry Sithmas’ silver foil, that transitioned to coins in 2020. For 2022, we have both a new coin, themed around the snow-covered winter wonderland that was the planet Hoth, and another of the super-weird foils.

The foil maintains the quirky nature of previous efforts, and will surely be a popular gift for the Star Wars fan on Christmas day.

It’s Disney, and it’s Christmas, so the coin design is filled with all the saccharin goodness you’d expect. Depicting Mickey and Minnie kissing, it’s obviously aimed at the hardcore Disney fan, or the younger one. This coin is a half-ounce in weight, so more affordable than most, and the innovative capsule allowing for it to be hung from a tree, returns.

Harry Potter has joined the Season’s Greetings line-up, with a tree in front of a window at Hogwarts, along with the four House Shields. Like the Disney coin, this one comes in a specially shaped capsule for easy display, and all in the very neat book-style box.

The regular Chibi release is the second in the new Star Trek Next Generation subset, and depicts the First Officer of the Enterprise, Commander Riker. Fully bearded, straight out of the second season

Check out our epic Chibi profile for the full range to date.