As the ANA show kicks off, we’re taking a look at the new CIT coins, some of the most eagerly awaited of all the coins released around this time. After the latest Evolution of Life coin we looked at earlier today comes another sequel to one of last years hit coins; Skull No.1, as well as a hefty variant.

First up is Big Skull, a half-kilo version of Skull No.1 that exhibits a seemingly extraordinary amount of relief for a struck design. As you can see above, at around sixteen times the size of its inspiration, Big Skull is an impressive beast. There’s a lot more detail visible here, taking full advantage of the surfeit of metal to work with. In all other respects it is exactly what it looks like – a big Skull No.1 and all the better for it.

We speculated about a true follow-on from last years coin, wondering if a cultural or archaeological theme would take hold and now our query has been answered. Pirate skull goes full-on with a great looking design complete with bandana, earings and missing teeth. The same one-ounce in weight as Skull No.1, this is a clever and attractive variation on the theme.

Both come boxed with a certificate of authenticity; the small coin in the same tin as last years and the beast in a gloss black box of what looks to be of extremely high quality. In addition to these two, a 0.5 g minigold pirate coin with a 15,000 mintage will also be available and we’ll look at that another time. That one will be available in October, while the two silver coins will ship a month later. We like this pair a lot.