Following on from the mythical Excalibur, the second in the ‘Legend of the Sword’ series is an actual historical weapon – the Roman short sword, Gladius, a fearsome cutting and thrusting weapon that helped build and maintain the Republic, and the Empire, until the 3rd century CE. Brutally effective in combination with the Pilum. It was replaced by the bigger Spatha, for the heavy infantry, although it remained in use with the light units.

The coin is an excellent representation of the Gladius, of the type found in Pompeii excavations. The obverse side is decorated with architectural details, and the reverse face has a red crystal embedded in the pommel. The blade has a blood effect, which is created from hand-set micro-crystals, which will glitter under the appropriate light. In the images above, you can see the variance.

Again, there are multiple finishes, but just two this time, and there’s no randomness attached to them, either, so you can buy the one you want. There’s a gilded variant, and in my view, a superior antiqued one. The acrylic frame it comes with looks well realised. A great series, especially if it sticks to historically real weapons, rather than fantasy.

Another historically accurate weapon, the Sword of Goujian was found in a tomb in Hubei, China, in 1965. Formed in tin bronze, it’s been attributed to Goujian, who was one of the final kings to rule over Yue, an ancient Chinese state of the first millennium BCE. Despite the sword’s age, likely dated to around 510 BCE, it remains untarnished and still sharp.

On one side of the blade is the inscription 越王勾践 自作用剑 — which translates as the “King Goujian of Yue, made this sword for his own use.” A really wonderful artifact, and a fantastic subject for a weapon coin. The producer has done a top job here, reproducing all the blade detailing. Only the choice of font for the issue details jars a little.

Two variants on offer again. The antiqued one is usually my go-to favourite, but the coloured one gets my nod here. It’s coloured to match the original, currently residing in the Hubei Provincial Museum, along with its original scabbard, fabricated from black lacquered wood. Very cool indeed.

Finishing up with our look at Silver Pours new weapon coins, is a trip back to the fantasy world, with this striking Medusa knife. Easily the most exquisitely detailed of the four new issues here, it’s cleverly shaped with the blade formed from a snake, a nod to the legend of Medusa, of whom you’re no doubt well aware. It’s heavily textured, and highlighted with a crimson enamel.

The hilt is extremely ornate, depicting Medusa, with her signature snake hair, and in a flowing dress. On the back, you can see hints of a snake scale texture, and a green colouration that I initially thought was UV sensitive, but there’s no mention of that in the blurb. It doesn’t need it, and the green is subtle, and looks great.

Sensing a trend, there are a pair of variants again. The antiqued version has a mintage of 349 pieces, while the gilded coin tops out at just 149. Despite being more common, we prefer the antiqued one, but then I almost always do, so no surprise there then… There’s a neat acrylic display box, and a COA.