‘We all live in a yellow submarine shaped coin’. The Crown Mint debuts its homage to the iconic Beatles song and film
UPDATE: The Crown Mint has closed down, so this series, and everything else they do, is dead.
When the conversation turns to a discussion on favourite bands, it’s fair to say The Beatles will be at, or near, the top of the list for many. From their roots in 1960s Liverpool, to being regarded as the most influential band of all time, The Beatles wide, and often eclectic, musical style has earned them legions of fans around the globe, and legendary status for Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.
As well as music, they also dabbled in the movies, and between 1964 and 1970, starred in five major films. The fourth of them, Yellow Submarine, is probably the most iconic of them all, despite being animated, and despite their characters being voiced by actors. Its trippy style was a huge hit, and the film has been credited with saving the idea of feature-length animated motion pictures.
The soundtrack to the film was also hugely popular, the Lennon-McCartney penned title track, with lead vocals by Ringo Starr, considered one of their greatest tracks, so what better way to kick off a new range of Beatles coins than this super-iconic hit.
The star of the movie was that yellow submarine, drawn in a style straight out of sixties psychedelia, so we’re not surprised that regular producer of shaped coins, the Crown Mint, has chosen that submarine for its first issue.
They’ve done an awesome job. The coin is a perfect celebration of the song, and the film, one that Beatles lovers will instantly take a shine to, we’re certain. Fully coloured, beautifully presented, and relatively affordable (it’s 1 oz), this officially licenced coin has popularity written all over it.
There’s more to come, including designs featuring the evil, music-hating Blue Meanies from the same film, and the Beatles themselves, The range will also expand to include gold coins (1 oz & 12 gram), and 10 gram silver – the possibilities for this licence are endless. A fine debut for Beatles fans.
| SPECIFICATION | |
| DENOMINATION | £5 UKP (Gibraltar) |
| COMPOSITION | 0.999 silver |
| WEIGHT | 31.1 grams |
| DIMENSIONS | 60.0 x 35.0 mm |
| FINISH | Proof |
| MODIFICATIONS | Shaped, Coloured |
| MINTAGE | 4,000 |
| BOX / C.O.A. | Yes / Yes |
The Crown Mint is defunct and took all of our money and ran. Never received this coin.
I’ll see what I can find out. Had contact with them late last year, but they were never very prolific, so it didn’t ring alarm bells with the lack of activity. I was updating the Marvel guide on Friday, and checked their site to see if any more of their Marvel Minis’s had been launched, and saw it was down. Their earlier parent site (SA-Partners) is down as well. Will reach out on Monday and get back to you if I hear anything back.
Crazy to think that all that money can just be gone. I’m one of many people who have lost with the Yellow Submarine Coin. Not to mention all those other customers who have lost money on other products… We know the coins were made, where are they??
Very disappointing all round. They were one of the pioneers in popularising licenced franchise coins, and they seemed to be doing well with the Stones, and Beatles, so their going under was unexpected. It was handled in a really crappy way as well. Complete opposite to Pobjoy Mint, who wound down operations in a very ordered way, and getting everyone what they paid for. As for the coins being made, often they’re done in batches. If they weren’t paying bills, it’s possible most of the coins were never struck.
I was also one of those who they took the money and never sent the coin. Even after months and months of emails back and forth, I could not persuade them to send it or give me a refund.