World Bullion Coins in 2017

2017 is already shaping up as an exciting year for modern bullion coins.

From the new Pegasus series to the first-ever silver Krugerand and a modification to the design of the Britannia silver bullion coin, among other developments, there is a lot happening in the coming months.

First, the Pegasus silver coin, a well-designed reverse proof silver coin from Pobjoy on behalf of the British Virgin Islands.  In seems like a replacement for the Angel series the mint produced for Isle of Man for the past couple decades, which ended with the 2016 silver and gold coins since Isle of Man cancelled its longstanding contract with the mint.

The design shows two figures from Greek mythology, the white-winged Pegasus horse with the Greek goddess Athena next to it, and the mintage is just 50,000 coins, a small number for a bullion issue.  Considering it is the first year of the new series, a low-mintage reverse proof, and that is can be purchased for just a couple of dollars over melt, I think these coins are a smart buy.

On the occasion of the Krugerand gold coin’s 50^th anniversary, the South African Mint is introducing a long-awaited silver version that sports the same iconic image of a springbok and has a “50” in a circle privy mark.  The plan is to issue a half million “premium uncirculated” finish coins plus 15,000 proofs, and to make the silver coin an ongoing series.

The mint also plans to issue a platinum proof for the first time plus new sizes of gold coins to supplement the existing 1 oz., ½ oz., ¼ oz., and 1/10^th oz., including 1/50^th oz., 1/20^th oz., 5 oz., and a whopping 50 oz.

Then there is the Royal Mint, which is adding cool-looking radiating lines to the background of the popular silver Britannia, and this design modification is an anti-counterfeiting measure like the similar lines the RCM added to its Maple Leaf coins a couple years ago.  

Initial reports suggested the change might only be on the lunar privy mark version of the 2017 Britannia, but APMEX has posted an image of the new design on its site (www.apmex.com).

Plus the second 2-oz. silver coin in the very well received Queen’s Beast series is coming soon.  The new coin will depict a griffin.  There are also reports (unconfirmed but appear to be from a reputable source) that the ¼ oz. gold version will no longer be made, so the lion coin of that size will be a one-year type.  The 1 oz. gold coins are expected to continue.

The RM also recently launched its 2017 Year of the Rooster silver and gold coins.  These are bullion pieces, and there is also a plethora of commemorative rooster coins, many of which are already or will soon be released.  Some more notable ones are those from the Perth Mint, which so far include the bullion, proofs, and color proof, and the Niue 5-oz. silver selectively gilded coin and Cook Islands 5-oz. silver with large red mother of pearl inlay.  Both are higher-end coins that are not cheap.

Photo credit: Modern Coin Mart (www.moderncoinmart.com)