The spring of 2019 has brought an abundance of unusual gold and silver coins, which hit the market both in Russia and abroad.
Cartoon characters featured on new coin series are quite common these days – Winnie the Pooh, Gena the Crocodile, Tom and Jerry – mints have portrayed just about every iconic one. But Australia’s Perth Mint designers have managed to surprise even the real connoisseurs. Their new silver coin shows a… Homer Simpson’s donut from the American animated show! In 2018, The Simpsons reached an incredible milestone, becoming the longest prime-time show in the history of television. The coin’s reverse depicts Homer’s iconic pink-frosted donut with a bite taken out of its upper right corner. The design also includes Matt Groening’s signature and the P mark of the Australian Perth Mint. On the obverse is the image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, date 2019 and face value. The donut coin has a limited mintage of 3,000 pieces; its price is about RUR 10K ($150).
The Palau Big Skull 3D high relief antiqued silver coin is a true numismatic gem, with Palau’s coat of arms and face value ($25) on the obverse and a detailed image of a human skull on the reverse. The 500-gram coin has a limited mintage of 555 pieces; its approximate price is RUR 149K ($2.28K).
Fans of one famous soft drink have something to celebrate – Coin Invest Trust has released an original irregular shape coin, official legal tender of Fiji. The $1 pure silver coin looks like a classic Coca-Cola bottle cap – a true numismatic tribute to the legendary brand. The company is a legend of modern culture, as it has satisfied the thirst of several generations. The new $1 Coca-Cola Bottle Cap Silver Prooflike Coin underscores the iconic brand’s popularity. Coin Invest Trust has produced a real masterpiece – a bright red coin with an ingenious bottle top-shaped flan and the famous Coca-Cola logo. This numismatic product will surely delight dedicated coin collectors. The price of the product is about RUR 3.5K ($50).
Chess lovers will enjoy a silver coin from Niue, called Chess. The coin, made in the classical antiquity style, is complemented with miniature chess pieces. The coin has a limited mintage of 500 pieces. It weighs two troy ounces (62.2 grams) and its price is RUR 33.6K ($514).
The Royal Canadian Mint made the first curved football-shaped coin. The coin is crafted in 999 pure gold. The reverse features a traditional American football with laces, and the obverse is decorated with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. There are only 550 such coins in the world.
Another amazing coin, Armillary Sphere, is made on the Cook Islands. The 1-ounce gold coin costs some RUR 123K. The coin consists of four rings that can be shaped into an armillary sphere, a model of the celestial globe. The obverse of all rings has inscriptions: Elizabeth II, Cook Islands, $25, New Zealand, ¼ oz, Au 999,9, as well as a tiny portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Valcambi Mint name is written on the reverse.
And last but not least is a Russian-made coin of pure 999 gold. It is called The 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Its price is over RUR 5.5 mio ($84K). The limited mintage – only 25 pieces – is what explains its record price.
The analysis of the investment coin market shows that the competitiveness between mints is growing and designers are doing their best to draw customer’s attention to their product.
By Alexei Vyazovsky, Vice President of the Golden Mint House