The third in what is purportedly a 12-coin series of aquatic-themed silver bullion coins, Treasures of Oz have launched the follow-up to the Kakahi Yellowfin Tuna and the Mokoha Great White Shark. Depicting the incredible Sailfish, and titled Hakula Sailfish, the coin is identical in specification and art style to the previous pair.

With a mintage set at 250,000, it isn’t one of the rarer silver bullion coins, but it’s certainly more exclusive than the major players and carries a fairly small premium over the spot price as well. There seems to be a general concensus amongst collectors that the designs of these are well-liked, but it isn’t the highest quality bullion coin out there. We’ve yet to see this one, but the design looks nice and dynamic and we can see this being popular. A proof version would be nice in fact. The coins are struck by the Highland Mint in the United States, also responsible for the first two coins.

Available in 20-coin tubes, or 500 unit ‘Monster-boxes’, most bullion dealers also sell them individually should you be a collector rather than a stacker. Quite a few dealers have them up already, including APMEX who made available the excellent images of the coin they’re well known for.

SAILFISH

A species of Billfish living in warmer sections of all the worlds oceans, Sailfish are blue to gray in color with white underbellies and a highly distinctive erectile dorsal fin known as a sail, which can strength the full length of the fishes back. They also sport an elongated bill, similar to that of the swordfish and other marlins. Often said to have two main subspecies, Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, no differences have been in mtDNA, morphometrics or meristics between the two supposed species and they’re now considered to be the same.

Fast growing (reaching 1.2–1.5 m in length in a single year), they feed on the surface or at middle depths on smaller pelagic forage fish like sardines and anchovies, which they can shepherd with their sails to make them easier to catch. They also eat squid and octopus. They tend to grow no more than 3m in length with a maximum weight of 90 kg.

The sail is normally kept folded down and to the side when swimming, but it may be raised when the sailfish feels threatened or excited, making the fish appear much larger than it actually is. This tactic has also been observed during feeding, when a group of sailfish use their sails to “herd” a school of fish or squid. They can swim 100 m in 4.8 sec and via their nervous system, almost instantly change colour, a tactic used to confuse prey and to communicate to other sailfish.

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SPECIFICATION