The second in the Scottsdale Mint’s annual Congo Silverback series of bullion coins has debuted, appearing at big US dealer APMEX for pre-order. The first coin launched late last year and has been pretty successful, seemingly well liked by collectors. It had a very cool design, was well struck, and well presented, each coming encapsulated. Premiums were a little higher than the Maples, Philharmonics etc., but the semi-numismatic nature of these made the extra well worth it for many.

The second coin has an identical obverse, the date being carried on the reverse face, and depicts the emblem/coat-of-arms of the Republic of the Congo, a state on the mid-western coast of Africa. The denomination is also present here. The reverse face features a Silverback Gorilla looking straight forward. Barring a tribal pattern around the rim that has the inscriptions “CONGO SILVERBACK GORILLA”, the date and composition within it, the picture of the gorilla fills the coin. It’s a nice design, although we still prefer the superb 2015 coin in a head-to-head. That’s more a statement of how good the 2015 coin was rather than a criticism of the 2016.

Struck in a troy ounce of fine silver (0.999), there are only 75,000 of these to be minted, up on the first coins 50,000. All are encapsulated, buyers of five getting them in a branded and sealed strip. Available to pre-order now, they ship in mid-late July.