One of the more sought after bullion rounds in recent years, the Chiwoo Cheonwang has opened up Korean culture to the wider coin market, and the market liked what it saw. Now a few issues old and accompanied by other designs, new issues seem to be eagerly awaited. Coins Today have now decided to expand the Chiwoo range by releasing some very limited, and very impressive sterling silver miniatures. There has been some recent precedent for this. The New Zealand Mint has certainly proven that a healthy market exists for high-quality cast silver miniatures with its licenced ranges, and having seen most of them in hand, we can certainly attest to the fantastic quality of them. While they mostly came in at around the 150 gram mark in weight, this new pair from Korea are far larger.

The statue is a depiction of Chiwoo Cheonwang that has clearly been taken straight from last years bullion round, and that’s a great starting point, as that was a fine design. The god of war is shown holding his giant, almost anime-inspired sword in one hand, and his shield with a Dokkaebi upon it, in the other.

Two sizes of the miniature are on offer, neither in large numbers. The bigger of the two weighs in at just over a kilogram in weight and stands 135 mm high. Just ten of these will be cast. The smaller one still tips the scales at a still healthy half-kilo, and a hundred of these will be available. These are obviously tiny numbers for something so popular.

Packaging looks neat enough, aping the NZ Mint style which works so well. The serial number is actually engraved on the base of the statue and is reproduced on the certificate. All told, a quite stunning sculpture, packed with fine detail and beautifully presented. Fans of the bullion series will be wanting this, for sure. Keep an eye on Coinstoday.co.kr for availability.