Kurt Cobain, Robbie Williams, Adam Levine, Lady Gaga, Lemmy Kilmister, Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers make a list of big name talent that any artist would love on their CV. Dutch tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher, affectionately known as Hanky Panky, can make that claim, having worked on all of them, along with many others over the last few decades.

Not just a tattoo artist, Schiffmacher has written books on tattoo artistry, presented TV shows and curated exhibitions on the subject. By all accounts a larger than life character, Hanky Panky continues to ply his trade at his own Amsterdam-based tattoo shop. Despite all this, he remains a very unusual choice of subject for a commemorative issue. The end result however, puts to bed any reservations you might have – it’s quite superb.

The obverse has a very characterful portrait of the man, almost textured like an oil painting. Lots of detail, it certainly makes a great change from Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse face is a reproduction of a piece of Schiffmacher’s original art and it’s a gorgeous piece. Everywhere you look there are neat little touches, and the way the art flows over the border is very well done.

Sadly, there’s only a base-metal (CuNi) version of this at present, mounted to a coin card decorated with his art. Hopefully, the Royal Dutch Mint will give us a proof silver version in the near future. We don’t generally cover medallions or base metal issues here, but this one was too good to pass up. Available now for just €12.50.