It seems to be full steam ahead on the bullion coin front this week. The biggie has obviously been the arrival after 50 years of a silver Krugerrand, and we’ve also had new Royal Mint lunars and what appears to be a cool change to the Britannia, but it’s to the smaller run bullion coins that collectors look for their ever changing fix of new and interesting designs.

Scottsdale Mint are one of those putting out some cool designs lately. The Congo Silverback series has been successful and the five-ounce Egyptian Relic coin was superb and very well priced. Next up is a very unusual choice for a bullion coin, Japanese artist Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”. A truly iconic piece of art by any standards, but absolutely synonymous with Japan, this is one of those artworks that has transcended the art world and made the leap to popular culture. An inspired choice for a coin.

The bullion version of this new coin is struck in an ounce of fine silver and issued for the Pacific island of Fiji. Limited to 50,000 pieces, it’s at the mid-low range of silver bullion coin mintages, so potentially one that could attain semi-numismatic status and have better than average appreciation. The reverse design takes the most prominent section of the original artwork to create a compact look at the whole without compromising the overall look. Inscriptions are kept to a low level, just the artist (HOKUSAI), the artwork (THE GREAT WAVE) and the composition in a smaller font (1oz 999 SILVER).

The obverse is typical Fijiian fare, just the national coat-of-arms with the issuer (FIJI), the date (2017) and the denomination (1 DOLLAR) on it. Packaging is the strip system that Scottsdale have used before, each coin encapsulated and shrink-wrapped to a branded card in multiples of five. You can see one further down. Premiums shouldn’t be excessive as Scottsdale are usually pretty reasonable on them compared to others.

In addition to this, Scottsdale have announced a coloured proof commemorative version with a mintage of just 2,500. Couloured like the original artwork, a piece that lends itself well to the process, it comes boxed and in a coloured shipper. It should come in at just under the $100 USD mark. Both are a refreshing change from the norm. Available very shortly.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏 Kanagawa-oki nami ura?, “In the well of a wave off Kanagawa”/”Under the wave off Kanagawa”), also known as The Great Wave or simply The Wave, is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It was published sometime between 1830 and 1833 in the late Edo period as the first print in Hokusai’s series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku sanjūrokkei?). It is Hokusai’s most famous work, and one of the best recognized works of Japanese art in the world. It depicts an enormous wave threatening boats off the coast of the prefecture of Kanagawa. While sometimes assumed to be a tsunami, the wave is, as the picture’s title suggests, more likely to be a large rogue wave. As in all the prints in the series, it depicts the area around Mount Fuji under particular conditions, and the mountain itself appears in the background.

Impressions of the print are in many Western collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the British Museum in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and in Claude Monet’s house in Giverny, France, among many other collections.

Hokusai created the “Thirty-Six Views” both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fine Wind, Clear Morning, that secured Hokusai’s fame both in Japan and overseas. As historian Richard Lane concludes, “Indeed, if there is one work that made Hokusai’s name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series…”. While Hokusai’s work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition.  Source:Wikipedia

Famed Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” serves as the inspiration for Scottsdale Mint’s latest legal tender bullion proof-like BU and color commemorative proof coin releases.  Collectors will instantly recognize Scottsdale’s effort in creating legal tender bullion and Color Commemorative Proof coins that capture the essence of Hokusai’s internationally renowned “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” color woodblock art piece first created in the 1830’s.  Fans of the artist will not be disappointed with Scottsdale’s attention to detail as both coins, on closer inspection, reveal a depiction of famed Mount Fuji in the background.

The Color Commemorative Proof coins, struck in .999+ silver, weighing 1 troy ounce each, are proof struck and placed in capsule, a Scottsdale Mint box and outer package.The Color Commemorative Proof 1 oz Fiji “Great Wave” coin is limited to only 2500 pieces.

The Bullion Proof-like BU coins, struck in .999+ silver, weighing 1 troy ounce each, are placed in capsule and shipped on customized Scottsdale Mint branded skin boards of five (5) coins allowing for ease of sale by cutting the skin board into individual pieces for your customers while keeping the coins sealed. The 1 oz Fiji “Great Wave” BU coin’s complete mintage is only 50,000.