NZ Mint

Street Fighter II Arcade Game Coin

November 24, 2021 By ausretrogamer

Round 1, fight! This awesome limited edition 1oz silver coin celebrates the iconic 1991 arcade game, Street Fighter II™. The first Street Fighter was released by the Japanese game manufacturer Capcom Company in 1987 and gave rise to an entire genre of fighting games and spawned a multitude of sequels.

This precious collectable incorporates the game logo on a mirror finish background, above a coloured image of Ryu and Ken, mid-battle, with Ryu executing the special attack Hadoken. The obverse of the coin features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, confirming it as legal tender.

image source: NZ Mint

The coin is housed inside a specially designed Street Fighter II-themed box which replicates the arcade cabinet – which is pretty darn cool! It features the coin’s battle image on the display screen and shows the main protagonist of the game, Ryu, on the sides. Confirmation of the coin’s authenticity is printed on its base. Lifting the “cabinet” off the base reveals the coin inside cushioned in black velvet.

Officially licensed, there are only 2,000 available worldwide. This is a perfect memento for those who grew up playing Street Fighter™ or indeed any gaming enthusiasts!

Check it out at NZ Mint here!

Chibi Coin Collection Street Fighter Series – Ryu Silver Coin

September 3, 2021 By ausretrogamer

We love the NZ Mint gaming related silver coins, so their latest release, the Street Fighter – Ryu Chibi Coin is so cool (and cute)!

Made from 1oz of pure silver, this new Chibi® Coin features experienced martial artist Ryu – the main protagonist in the video game Street Fighter™. The coin has been shaped and coloured in the Chibi art style to resemble Ryu. He is shown in his most recognisable attire consisting of a tattered white karate gi, long red headband, red martial arts gloves and bare feet. The Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II can be found on the opposite side to confirm it as a legal tender coin.

The coin is protected inside a specially designed case, moulded to the coin’s shape. The outer box is Street Fighter-themed, incorporating images of Ryu as he appears in the game, and includes a large window so you can easily display this precious collectable.

A maximum of 2,000 coins will be produced. This is confirmed by the Certificate of Authenticity printed on the box, along with the coin’s unique serial number. Don’t miss out on this officially licensed coin for Street Fighter!

PS: We can also exclusively reveal that there will also be Ken silver coin in the very near future!

source: NZ Mint

Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin – The Flawless Collectable

May 25, 2020 By ausretrogamer

When it comes to cool pop culture collectables, New Zealand Mint (aka: NZ Mint) is on the money in satisfying collectors and geeks alike!

NZ Mint has created a number of video gaming related collectables over the years, so their pedigree in this category is second to none. We previously collected their Space Invaders 40th and Tetris 35th anniversary silver coins which proved quite popular with you all.

Following on from their successful Space Invaders and Tetris silver coins, NZ Mint has now introduced a limited (to 2,020 pieces of the) Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin collectable. This arcade cabinet and silver coin are right in our wheelhouse! During the early ’90s we played the heck out of Mortal Kombat in the arcades, patiently waiting our turn to inflict some gruesome attacks to earn flawless victories. We are happy to say, this NZ Mint Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin definitely earns a flawless victory!!!

This awesome collectable embodies everything cool that is Mortal Kombat! When you open the package, you are greeted by the specially designed Mortal Kombat-themed arcade cabinet, complete with the game logo and three of the original characters on each side; Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Raiden. The “Choose your Fighter” screen is also a great touch to the presentation.

Lifting the arcade cabinet off the base reveals the precious two dollar silver coin collectable cushioned in black velvet. The coin has the words ‘Mortal Kombat’ and the mythical dragon engraved against the fiery red and yellow background colours that are synonymous with the game. The coin is absolutely stunning, which means we can’t keep our hands off it! The other side of the coin features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

To complete this collectable is the confirmation of the coin’s authenticity, which is printed under the base. With the Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin being officially licensed by Warner Brothers and its limited availability to 2,020 units worldwide (reflecting the year of issue), this is the perfect memento for those who grew up playing Mortal Kombat or for any arcade fighter gaming enthusiasts! No ‘Fatality’ here, only a ‘Flawless Victory’!

Disclaimer: NZ Mint kindly provided the Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin for this article.

Tetris 35th Anniversary Silver Coin

May 2, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Last year’s NZ Mint commemorative Space Invaders 40^th Anniversary Silver Coin totally blew us away. Luckily for us, there is another classic video game anniversary this year which NZ Mint will help us celebrate and commemorate with one of their beautiful and special silver coins.

35 years ago, a puzzle game was born from the imagination of computer programmer, Alexey Pajitnov. That puzzle game was Tetris! Inspired by Alexey’s favourite puzzle board game, Pentominos, Pajitnov created an electronic version that let players arrange puzzle pieces in real time as they fell from the top of the playing field. The resulting design was a game that used seven distinctive geometric playing pieces, each made up of four Tetriminos. The genius of Tetris is in its simplicity which hooks you in immediately, but to master it you need the precision of a skilled surgeon and the reflexes of a cat.

Tetris was dubbed the first ‘killer app’ when it was bundled in with Nintendo’s Game Boy handheld system. We easily spent thousands of hours playing Tetris all those years ago and the passion to play it till this day still burns brightly as the first time we made four lines vanish on screen! That fun little puzzle game from 1984 has been responsible for hooking people into playing video games.

To commemorate the 35th anniversary of Tetris on June 6, NZ Mint has released a limited edition 1oz silver coin. The silver coin features the Tetris game’s iconic Tetrimino shapes on a chequered, proof background, arranged in a way to make it appear as if they are falling, much like in the game itself – very clever and iconic! The coin is housed inside a specially designed Tetris-themed arcade cabinet and includes a colourful image of the Kremlin, paying homage to the game’s Russian origins. The cushioned black felt base which holds the coin can be slipped out by lifting up the arcade cabinet, revealing the gorgeous coin. The entire package, from the coin, the felt cushion and arcade cabinet housing oozes quality and gets the nostalgic juices flowing.

If you are a coin collector or you loved (and still love) playing Tetris, then the Tetris 35th Anniversary limited-edition silver coin is the perfect memento for you.

Disclaimer: NZ Mint kindly provided the Tetris 35th Anniversary silver coin for this article.

Space Invaders 40th Anniversary Silver Coin

April 16, 2018 By ausretrogamer

Special occasions like anniversaries usually come about a few times in a lifetime, so what better way to commemorate and remember a special anniversary than a beautiful and awesome memento to mark the occasion!

There were a few arcade games that came before it, but in 1978 Taito’s Space Invaders single-handedly propelled arcade games into mainstream popular culture and helped kick off the golden age of arcade video games.

When Tomohiro Nishikado created Space Invaders we bet he wouldn’t have thought that it would become such a global hit. With its legacy well and truly cemented in arcade video gaming lore, we wonder then what Mr Nishikado-san would make of New Zealand Mint’s commemorative Space Invaders 40th Anniversary 1oz Silver Coin? If we were to guess, he would be most impressed, just like we were.

The first thing that struck us when opening the package was the beautifully recreated (to scale) Space Invaders arcade cabinet. The base of the cabinet carries the numbered (out of 3,000 units) Certificate of Authenticity. The precious cargo is housed inside the arcade cabinet, which can be opened by lifting the cabinet off its base to reveal the gorgeous 1oz silver coin, cushioned in black felt.

Removing the coin we were impressed with its size – it is bigger than we imagined! On one side of the coin you will find Space Invaders engraved on a proof background and lenticular printed coloured aliens that move as the coin is rotated at different angles. The other side of the coin has Queen Lizzie (just like on all of our Australian and NZ legal tender). Holding the coin feels special as it connects us via nostalgia for the video game that kickstarted the arcade scene in the late 70s.

Rotate the coin to move the aliens, just like in the actual game!
image source: NZ Mint

If you do want this beautiful and officially licensed limited edition memento to commemorate one of the greatest arcade games, then you may want to act fast, as there are only 3,000 coins available worldwide! This coin is a great investment for any gaming fan. Long live Space Invaders!

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