Star Trek beams down to collectors
The perennial Star TrekTM series continues to provide popular collector coins. Three new additions to the fleet of the United Federation of Planets were launched in late April and early…
The perennial Star TrekTM series continues to provide popular collector coins. Three new additions to the fleet of the United Federation of Planets were launched in late April and early May, two from The Royal Canadian Mint and one from The Perth Mint.
That from Perth is struck for Tuvalu. The design by Jennifer McKenna provides two Mr. Spocks for the price of one.
The 40.60 millimeter, 31.107 grams (one ounce) .9999 fine silver colorized $1 presents a scene – that never happened – from one of the most iconic Star Trek episodes: “Mirror Mirror”.
This episode was first broadcast on Oct. 6, 1967, as part of the second year of the original Star TrekTM series. A transporter malfunction sees Captain Kirk and his companions switched with their evil twins from a parallel universe.
The coin design not-withstanding, Spock and anti-Spock remain in their own universes throughout the episode as the good Capt. Kirk figures out how to get back to his own universe while planting the seed of change in the evil parallel universe.
The coin has a mintage of 3,000 and can be sourced from The Perth Mint’s on-line shop: http://www.perthmint.com.au/
A Borg Cube looms large and aggressively on the reverse of a Canadian silver $20 struck to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star TrekTM: The Next Generation.
The Collective certainly deserve their own coin. Their first encounter with humans occurred in the second season of this series when the phrase “You will be assimilated; resistance is futile” first echoed around the U.S.S. Enterprise. From that small beginning the Borg persisted to be eventually ranked by TV Guide as No. 4 in the 2013 list of the “60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.”
Their oddly cube-shaped vessel is engraved in detail on the 38mm, 31.39 g .9999 fine silver proof’s reverse, its green tractor beam locked onto the U.S.S. Enterprise as The Collective continues its “relentless pursuit to assimilate technology, worlds and even beings.” Mintage is 10,000.
But for all Trekkies pride of place among Star TrekTM coins must go to the Royal Canadian Mint’s 54 mm, 62.27 g .9999 fine silver “Five Captains” $30 colorized/glow-in-the-dark proof. This coin celebrates not just one series but the entire Star TrekTM franchise.
The reverse features all five commanders in full color. There’s Benjamin Sisko on leave from Deep Space Nine (1993-1999), Jonathan Archer aboard Enterprise (2001-2005), James T. Kirk straight out of The Original Series (1966-1969), Jean-Luc Picard beamed down from The Next Generation (1987-1994), and Kathryn Janeway still lost in the Delta Quadrant aboard Voyager (1995-2001). The portraits are positioned around an engraved Starfleet Delta Shield Insignia that bears the five-point star indicative of command rank.
But there’s more. When viewed in the dark the reverse shows a hidden image: a head-on view of U.S.S. Enterprise complete with phaser beams.
Mintage of this coin is 5,000 and is anticipated as being a sure-fire sellout. Trekkies may well beat coin collectors to the draw with this one.
If your favorite dealer can’t supply one, better check out http://www.mint.ca immediately.
This article was originally printed in World Coin News. >> Subscribe today.
More Collecting Resources
• The Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000 is your guide to images, prices and information on coinage of the 1900s.
• Start becoming a coin collector today with this popular course, Coin Collecting 101.
