T & S Coin returns to its Treasure Island pirate theme with an otherwordly Black Diamond design

A perpetual favourite in modern culture, pirates, particularly the ships the most famous of them used to ply their trade, also have become a regular part of the numismatic calendar. One of the most inventive of them has been T & S Coin, who having issued ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ in 2023, and ‘Treasure Island’ in 2024, both of which were two-ounce, high-relief coins.

Their latest release in the genre utilises the same format, and keeps the very cool skeletal pirate as its main star. Here, surrounded by his loot, he sits peering at a ship in a bottle, glowing eerily. The coin is antique finished, but is enhanced in several ways. The pirate’s clothes are nicely coloured, looking quite leather-like in these early renders, and there are copious gilded highlights, mainly coins, scattered liberally around. The inside of the bottle has a glow-in-the-dark colour application. I have to give a special shout out to the parrot with an eye-patch…

The obverse has been revised from pre-2025 designs, with a larger shield now topped with a crown, and having the composition inscriptions moved to the two edge ‘twirls’ for a cleaner overall look. A very attractive upgrade, keeping the originals ‘flavour’ but being all-new at the same time. The coin is boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity, and is available to order now. Top, stuff, me hearties!

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE
$5 NZD (Niue) 62.2 g of 0.999 silver 45.0 mm Antique 500