The latest blockbuster movie from the Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) is one than fans never thought they would see. The movie rights to Spiderman are not actually owned by them, but like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, are owned by Sony. Fortunately, a deal was thrashed out that let Spiderman join the MCU and this second reboot of the franchise now sits firmly at the top of the biggest and most profitable movie universe in history.

Marvel coins are appearing with increasing regularity now, recent releases have included a Spiderman bullion coin, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Captain America. You’d expect a franchise littered with huge explosions, exotic locations and fantasy characters to have a coin selection awash with gimmicks, but in most cases they’ve been very predictable, mostly simple coloured silver coins, although a couple of domed strikes have been impressive enough. This new release does away with the colour and goes back to classic basics with a clean strike and quality artwork.

To undertake the artwork, a modern master was employed. John Mercanti joined the U.S. Mint in 1974, holding the position of Chief Engraver from 2006 until his retirement in 2010. responsible for more successful designs than any other employee in the history of the U.S. Mint, Mercanti is most known for the eagle design on the American Silver Eagle bullion coin, and for his recent Wedge-tailed Eagle designs for the Perth Mint. His Spiderman design is iconic, dynamic and exactly as you’d expect for the character. Fans will likely love it.

Available in 1 oz gold, 5 oz silver and 1 oz silver, the coin is issued for Cook Islands so will feature the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. The design is common across the variants and so is the packaging. What looks to be a solid, themed box with a slide out component will make plenty of people happy, and the certificate is serialised and themed to match. This isn’t to be confused with the Tuvalu-issued bullion coin. Numbers of these are limited to 250 gold, with silver availability set at a 1,000 of the large coins and 5,000 of the small. These should start to filter through to the usual dealers any time now, with prices around $2700-3000 for the gold, $350 for the 5 oz silver and $70-80 for the 1 oz. Shipping should begin in the next couple of weeks.