Star Wars Silver Coins Announced
Well, actually, yes. Following on from yesterday’s article about the Perth Mint’s Transformers bullion coins, New Zealand Mint has announced that it has been commissioned by S&A Partners – the official licensee of Lucasfilm.
Lucas film is the production company behind the Star Wars phenomenon which has made a mutli, multi-millionaire our of the brand’s producer and director George Lucas.
The coin series will be 24 strong, with the first appearing at August’s World of Money Fair organised by the American Numismatic Association, and held in Chicago.
The first film – Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back – was released thirty-four years ago, and took the world by storm. Stories from galaxies ‘far, far away,,,’ have never been the same since. Lucas’s special effects altered the face of film forever.
Now, for the first time, all the unforgettable good guys and bad guys will become available on legal tender coins.
After the first release in August this year, there are further issues planned out to the first half of 2014. The first coins include characters from the first three films, and will be minted as eight 40mm, 1 ounce .999 fine silver $2 coins, and 10 40mm, nickel plated bas metal 50 cent coins. They will be minted as legal tender on Niue Island.
Presentation of such collector’s items is always important, and these do not fail to impress. The silver $2 coins will be split into two groups of four. The four ‘baddies’ from the dark side are Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Stormtoopers, and the Death Star. These will be presented in Darth Vader’s helmet, which breathes heavily when opened.
The goodies- Luke and Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO, Obi-Wan and Yoda, are packaged in a replica Millenium Falcon. When opened, this presentation case will sound like its about to take off.
Lucasfilm is releasing the whole Star Wars series on Blu-ray in September, so the marketing men have cleverly planned the minting and issue of these coins in August. Further out, Star Wars: Episode 1, The Phantom Menace is to be released in 3D in February next year. The coin release has not only been arranged to coincide with these events, but will also benefit from them, a fact not lost on New Zealand Mint Vice President, Chris Kirkness.
Children will love these coins, as will aficionados of the Star Wars global brand. The films have produced nearly $4.5 billion in revenues, though other merchandise increase this many times over. Now coins are added to the list, which includes dolls, comic books, books, stationary items, clothing, and toys.
Star Wars devotees can get their first coin fix in August by visiting the NZ Mint website, though they will also be available for purchase through several international dealers.
Gold And Silver To Continue To Shine Brightly
With gold hitting a record high recently, and silver continuing to rally strongly, metals sages around the world are looking forward with increasing optimism for the price of these investments.
Increasing concerns over European debt, and the inability of lawmakers in America to come to an agreement about raising the US debt ceiling has prompted recent price moves. Market observers already are of the opinion that should the US fail to raise the debt ceiling, then gold will move higher –and silver, also – as America becomes technically defaulting on its debts, and investors flock to the safe haven of the precious metals.
Now, Korea Investment and Securities Co. have opined that gold is set to move higher even if a debt agreement is reached. This is because such a raising of debt will weaken the dollar and boost import inflation in the country and send investors to look for a store of value in the precious metal.
In their research, Korea Investment and Securities Co. state they see more downside to US equities, and a greater upside in gold in the coming months.
