The legends of asgard series is being talked about on the major forums I've checked out and people seem to like it a lot. If the artistry and coin quality is really as good as it looks. I think it will be a big benefit that this new mint is starting at such a high level. Also, if they are able to create quality pieces moving foward, Odin could become a key piece/year as it is the first. If you go to choicemint.com and check out what they have to offer, this is only this coin. I'm betting money that this will be a keeper. Price is good, timeline even better, looks great, first coin from new mint, this piece has a lot of things going for it. I just hope/pray, no milkspots.. Also, think it'll be in a capsule and can this type of coin be graded?
I understand mate. I was just trying to make the point that this level of relief is far more extreme than usual and a cast Chinese medal seemed the logical comparison. I will admit that my overall knowledge of them isn't what it should be and even toyed with the idea of running a page on the site just reporting on them simply because I love that mammoth medal. Just started a new job however and the commute is killing me while we house-hunt closer to it. Finished the article at 4 am after 13 hours at work and a two hour drive home so was perhaps a bit touchy. I will reiterate for all that the site earns almost bugger all, not even half a days wages a month which just about covers hosting, etc. I'm extremely careful not to overpromote anything and I try to find the positive in most coins because I'm acutely aware that everybody has different tastes. If you all knew what a loud opinionated turtle I am in real life (I work in the UK construction industry) you'd be shocked at the restraint... I made the site because my Mrs got me into collecting about five years ago and I couldn't understand why such a visual hobby had no visual websites. I'd also never done a site before and fancied a bash at it. I was very proud that the guys at Choice let me run a world-exclusive on the coin, especially as it's their first baby, but trust me on this, if it was a crap coin I wouldn't be saying I loved it. Fortunately, they played a great hand.
Antique finish usually puts paid to milk spots rearing their ugly head and this type of coin can be graded. Why anybody would want to lock one of these in a slab is beyond me personally, but I know many do. Be interesting to see how NGC/PCGS etc grade these.
Thanks for seeking further info on this, and your willingness to reconsider how that's presented. Really, it's only 1 line of quite an extensive article. But also keep in mind that there's a small-but-growing group of "rabid, die-hard fan-boys" of these beautiful Chinese pieces -- including myself. Also keep in mind that the Chinese have been experimenting & mastering this technique for years -- going back to at least 2011, if not earlier. And they've put out quite a few issues & series, whether done in gold, silver, brass, copper & bronze, in a variety of designs, weights & sizes. These artists & Chinese mints are, IMO, miles ahead of any competition. Many other mints from around the world should be ashamed, really. What these Chinese medals lack, in comparsion, however, are the awareness & promotion / marketing, as well as availability & distribution. Though there have been some recent & welcomed in-roads made in these areas, as well. In fact, I'd rather see it remain relatively quiet, for various reasons. In any event, I first take issue with these being typed as cast. At first glance, one would perhaps think so, especially given what the average collector/stack has been accustomed to with products from other mints. However, from everything that I've seen & heard, the overwhelming majority of these are minted. I also own quite a few, myself, and none of them are cast. I don't own the Mammoth (yet?), but it's my understanding that it, too, is minted & not cast. In fact, there have been credible reports that oftentimes many dies are used for even a relatively tiny mintage run, as they crack from the extreme pressure needed to produce the ultra-high relief. Given that I have pieces in hand, which I'm not entirely sure that you would be able to say the same, I can completely undertstand & believe that oftentimes these dies do crack fairly easily. I can also say with confidence that these don't appear in the least bit to be cast, but rather minted. Second, I take issue with the statement that this new series, starting with the Odin coin, is approaching the style & craftsmanship of many of these Chinese medals. It depends how you read that, really. But again, having quite a few of these medals in hand (although not having the Odin in hand, despite the photos & video), I'm comfortable in saying that, while a welcome entry to the game, I still don't put it in the same league. They've got a ways to go -- and as mentioned, many other mints do, as well. For one, the Odin is really only one-sided when it comes to the relief, for all intents & purposes. Oftentimes, both sides of Chinese medals are produced in such a manner. With the Odin, it seems as though one is paying full price for only half the product. Next, it appears the Odin is lacking what I refer to as "stacked" and "staggered" relief, which is basically various levels of layers of relief multi-directionally intertwined as part of the design in various ways. It's not easy to describe, but as with pornography, you'll know it when you see it. Finally, it appears that there is way too much uniformity with the Odin -- as if somebody took a Chinese medal with its angled & rounded & curved high-points of relief at various height levels, and simply lopped it off flat-clean at a certain height across the entire medal. Here are a couple screenshots I took from the Odin video to best represent that, when looking at a perpendicular angle.. As you can see, it is rather flat, unlike various Chinese medals. There are no areas of the design protruding out, above & beyond that clean, uniform lopped-off level -- which makes for a less-exciting visual experience. Anyway, hopefully all that makes sense. :lol: And again, I'm glad to see something like the Odin finally come out. It is most certainly a step in the right direction, and I hope they & other mints can expand on that; I believe it's only natural that they will -- or at least try. Heck, I'm even toying with the idea of picking up 1 or 2 of these, myself. But I also know that I -- along with some of my fellow rabid Chinese medal fan-boys -- am not entirely impressed with this Odin, as some others are out there who are used to the ho-hum of normal-relief coins & rounds, or even the "ultra" high-relief pieces (and I use those quotes for a reason), such as the Provident Privateer, which I own. And as for the term "max relief," which may insinuate that this is the absolute best something of this nature could ever be accomplished, I do have to chuckle a bit. But at least those behind it are trying to differentiate themselves from the over-used hyperbole of "ultra-high relief" that's been thrown around willy-nilly as of late. I can respect that, as it does appear the Odin is a step up from those. In any event, if you've made it this far into the post, thanks for your time on hearing my thoughts, and for the consideration of editing the article, should you choose to. Ultimately, it is about the Odin -- and hopefully of what we'll see as a continuing wave of sexy high-relief designs & artistry, of pieces pushing the minting limits & and of designs covering a wide variety of subject matter, coming from many mints around the world, which I've been wanting to see for quite some time now.
@Gaito I do like the chinese medals as well, but the price point on those bad boys for real silver isn't anywhere close. The brass version compares in price point with the asgard. I like both and have no issues with folks comparing apples to oranges. They are same same but different. I would love to buy some of the chinese ones, but all I could get for the price is brass, which I don't want. The medal would be more of an artist piece, which they are but this still stays in the realm of a coin. A step is a step forward or at least progress. @AUAG - I was asking about the slab, because I picked up a couple. I was thinking of slabbing one set for the US market (we love our slabs) and one to enjoy as is in all its glory.
There would be a number of members here who very much welcome that endeavor and you'd be introducing what is possibly something quite new to many of your regular readers who may not have much of an idea about why the excitement over uber high relief Chinese medals by a seemingly growing number of collectors may in fact be the reason why some Western mints now are experimenting with producing their own coins, medals, and rounds that may some day soon rival the quality of extreme high relief that some of the Chinese mints seem to have already mastered....a win-win in my book. P.S. I wish you much luck with your house hunting and congrats on the new job! .
Thanks for the info, you make some decent points. The only issue I would take is with the level of ire this innocuous comparison seems to have raised and the incorrect assumptions taken from it. For starters there was no comparison in terms of craftsmanship, the only comparison being the depth of relief, a physical dimension. Even if the cast reference was removed, the rest would remain as a valid comparison as the Chinese medallions are about the only things with comparable and/or deeper relief. Injecting incorrect context and interpretation isn't helping. Yes, compared to Chinese medals the relief is less impressive or layered, but these are coins and have to be approved by a national government as being such. They have to abide by rules that medallion makers don't, who have a free artistic hand. To bring the Mammoth back into the argument, I'd be surprised if something like that would ever be issued as legal tender. Even the weirder end of the coin world like the Nefertiti head, or the Mint of Polands spherical, pyramidal and cylindrical issues all have smoothish faces and the Chinese government doesn't seem eager to issue coins like those medals. It's a different market. In terms of the modern numismatic market, Legends of Asgard is a step forward. No doubt the look will be refined further on the next few coins, but I think the essentially similar overall uniformity will remain, and I can understand that. As for the Max relief, they're right on that as well. Compared to the rest of the coin world (context) the statement is true. After all, calling a Bugatti Veyron awesomely fast is true, until you compare it to an F22 that doesn't have the same limitations on its design. I genuinely appreciate the comments and if the general concensus with collectors is that the Chinese medals are pretty much all struck, I'm more than happy to remove the reference to them being cast in the morning. Mik
I'm quite taken with some of the ones i've seen as well, but honestly, dealing with mints in the region is just a class-1 pita. Apart from the SIngapore Mint who've been great, the rest just don't seem to care about the market outside of China and have I think, quite crude and/or disinterested media relations departments. Even collectors of the stuff seem to have issues getting reliable information. AgAuNews is very visual and the Chinese medallion market would be a great fit, but I reckon trying to do it will end up being an exercise in frustration. Later in the year I'll start putting some feelers out and see how far I get. Unfortunately, house-hunting is also a pita exercise in frustration here. Job is much better than the last one and I've got access to a Flowjet waterjet cutting machine, and a pair of very cool Intermac CNC machines, all worth about $700k. The Mrs is already drawing some custom coin frames for herself....
It was mentioned by Altima in another thread and so I had to confirm. Apparently it's true that for the Choice Mint's Legend of Asgard Odin coin you can reserve the same serial number for each coin in the series...for an additional $15 fee. If I were able to request a low s/n I might go for it. . .
This coin is unique in and of itself. To me it is more like a work of art than what has been out in the coin market lately. The size (3 ounce) is sure to allow for an impressive presentation. In addition it says something about the Mint that all of the marketing materials are very professional and top notch. The Box looks really nice, the video is great, and the Coin numbered on the edge is an added touch. All these additional things are meaningless if the coin is not up to snuff but when added onto a great looking piece it adds up to a winner IMHO. I can't wait to have them in hand. BTW nice job agaunews......the write up is really interesting as well. The effort is much appreciated.
in that case i hope you remember to put her at the top of the client list..... or there may be ugly scenes
I am new to the forums and to stacking, now I want to collect sweet looking coins like this one. I just bought it, with the serial number subscription. Just what I needed, another hobby. Great information on this coin, thanks!
Hey majority of the china medal and coin do not make any publication and marketing in English at all. Therefore, it is not easy access to western countries. Therefore some cheap medal with good quality and so on BUT many of English speaking collectors are not aware at all. I take a simple example of the Ag world heritage :- http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-63193-4th-medal-world-heritage-series-pics.html The first few medals issue price was at USD550 no buyers at china which I and barsenault clear up around 15% of the actual mintage of 50 pcs (as at today) at low price. Those become around 1K plus now. Again I did post a thread and make a comparison of the 4 th world heritage medal with the western mints similar medal as following:- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Do you feel it is familiar of the dragon with pillar? Anyone recall the temple of heaven by Poland Mints ? 999 mintage 3.2oz retail price at USD309. https://firstcoincompany.com/S/all_silv cave-32-oz This is also 4 layers high relief if I am not wrong. The details are more clear and outstanding. 300 gram which is 2 time more than the temple of heaven. 2 sides high relief with 2 designs. Temple of heaven per oz USD103 vs world heritage per oz 73 (660/9oz). if it is below 600 or 600 it much lower per oz. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Knowing the network and connection to get it is the key. This medal always delay due to them focus on bad china economy and other many reasons. However, this clearly tell you the price is much cheaper than western mints with better design and high relief. Lucky I got 5 set of the first 3 and sold 3 set with good margin and left 2 set which 1 set is for collection for sure.
Just for information, many china medals are mints by official mints which is state owned rather than privately own by private shareholder. The medal can be commissioning by private investor like this Odin. However, it dies need to go through strict rules and regulations set by the mints which indirectly is control by the government. The diff is it is not following the legal tender legislation which is known and published to public. Australia coin might has strict legislation than Pacific Islands ( correct me if I am wrong which I do not do much homework). Therefore, pacific islands coins give me the impression that many coins are commissioning by private investors like china medal. China coins have not issue high relief coin because they view the high relief should be in medal NOT coin. Medal is a sub-branch and expansion of MCC. The official Medal needs to follow the mints policy and went through all procedures set by the management who report to government agency in order to ensure the it is not substandard than coins. This tell us the official china medals do not anyhow to issue medal as investor requirements. his always argue by the fiat money (coin) extreme supporter which medals are junk and coins always supreme for decades.
Hey mate, It is not easy to please everyone and maintain no bias. You did a good job keep up and everything clarify. I is damn hard to do to if you have full time job especially in construction industry which U need to deal with them daily. I am in construction family and I know the tough things. You must have every high level of motivation of the webpage. In fact I would love to give you more information of china coins and medals as before pre-issue. However, I do not have time and I have no access to pattern coins before they announce it publicly in mandarin. Some medals do have pattern medal before issue BUT it is just 1 or 2 weeks before release. In additional it is lack of information most time. This is the china way . It is also the fun way to find the treasure since information is not full.
Welcome to SilverStackers forum! Many of us here know exactly the sentiment you express. Some call it an addiction to the shiny stuff. .
