The New Zealand Mint has recently unveiled their comprehensive selection of products for the month of September. Among these exciting new releases are the extremely popular Lunar Series Year of the Dog Coins, in addition to a variety of officially licensed Disney coins ranging from the Star Wars franchise to The Three Little Pigs. The Star Wars coins, in particular, are cleverly themed around the highly anticipated film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, set to release on December 15, 2017. Furthermore, several of these emerging products include Disney’s own take on the Lunar Series Year of the Dog coins. It appears that September promises to be a fascinating month at the New Zealand Mint.

With February 2018 ushering in the Year of the Dog in Chinese astrology, the New Zealand Mint has unveiled two coins and a foil to commemorate the occasion.

The first coin is a 1-ounce silver Proof with applied color from Niue. The reverse features a pair of fully colored German shepherds set in front of a Chinese pine tree. The pine tree was chosen to symbolize long life. Toward the top of the coin, the inscription reads YEAR OF THE DOG.

The obverse of the 1-ounce silver Proof coin features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Starting clockwise from the top, the inscription reads: NIUE, TWO DOLLARS, 2018, ELIZABETH II.

The silver Proof coin from Niue is housed in a translucent perspex display and enclosed in an elegant green-and-silver box.

The two additional Year of the Dog products presented this month from the Perth Mint are officially licensed by Disney. One of these is a 1-ounce silver Proof coin with applied color from Niue, and the second is a 5-gram Brilliant Uncirculated silver foil.

The reverse of the Proof coin features an engraving of a stylized dog resting next to Mickey Mouse, who is surrounded by flowers. Toward the upper left quadrant of the coin, the Chinese character for “dog” is presented in a bold red color. The inscription on the bottom reads 1 oz 999 Fine Silver © Disney.

For the reverse of the Brilliant Uncirculated silver foil, the imagery is quite similar to the Proof coin, except Mickey Mouse and the stylized dog are colored in red along with the Chinese character for “dog.”

The obverse of the silver Proof coin and Brilliant Uncirculated silver foil both include Ian Rank-Broadley’s effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II as well as 2018, ELIZABETH II, and NIUE in their inscriptions.

The foil additionally includes 5g and the fineness, Ag•999, in the upper right corner, and 20 CENTS in the upper left and lower right corners.

The Proof coin is presented in a themed, red-gloss lacquered case, while the foil is presented in gift-style packaging that allows space for a personal message.

At the time of this posting, Coin Update sponsor APMEX offers special prices on pre-orders for the Perth Mint’s Year of the Dog Australian Lunar Series of bullion coins.

Two additional Disney-licensed coins are a half-ounce and a 1-ounce silver Proof coin with applied color, both in a Christmas theme. The half-ounce Proof features colored characters Minnie and Mickey Mouse along with Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto on the reverse. Inscribed toward the top of the coin is 1/2 ounce 999 Fine Silver © Disney. Also, the phrase Season’s Greetings is incused in script above the famous Disney cast of characters.

The reverse of the 1-ounce Proof, incorporates the design of Disney’s 1957 corporate Christmas card. At center is a colored scene of Mickey dressed as Santa Claus delivering presents to his friends. The inscription toward the left reads 1 oz 999 Fine Silver © Disney while the message CHRISTMAS GREETINGS is displayed toward the bottom. In a nod to that year’s release of the Disney movie Old Yeller, Mickey happily presents a copy of the book on which the movie was based, entirely clueless as to the dismay on the faces of Pluto, Lady, and Scamp (the latter two from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp).

The obverse of both Season’s Greetings coins are identical with an effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Their inscriptions read clockwise from the top: NIUE, TWO DOLLARS, 2017, ELIZABETH II.

The half-ounce Proof comes packaged in a star-shaped coin case, while the 1-ounce Proof comes in book-style packaging.

Very distinct from the other Disney coins is the 1-ounce silver Proof rectangular coin featuring The Three Little Pigs.The coin incorporates applied color on the reverse to depict an original poster from the 1930s animated short film The Three Little Pigs. The inscription reads MICKEY MOUSE PRESENTS A WALT DISNEY SILLY SYMPHONY and The THREE LITTLE PIGS toward the top, and 1 oz 999 Fine Silver © Disney at the bottom.

The obverse of the rectangular silver Proof features Ian Rank-Broadley’s effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II with the inscriptions ELIZABETH II and NIUE above, and the date and denomination, 2017 and 2 DOLLARS, below.

Also up this month are three collectible coins centered around Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Each is a 1-ounce silver Proof with applied color. One of the coins features Luke Skywalker on the reverse, while the other two feature Chewbacca and Supreme Leader Snoke, respectively. All three coins are inscribed with STAR WARS logo, in addition to 1 oz 999 Fine Silver and © & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd on the reverse.

The obverse of all three Star Wars: The Last Jedi coins are identical with an effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Their inscriptions read clockwise from the top: NIUE, TWO DOLLARS, 2017, and ELIZABETH II.

All three Last Jedi coins are housed in perspex displays and presented in themed packaging.

For more information on these coins, as well as many others, please visit the website of the New Zealand Mint.

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