Celebrate Oscar success and start a collection today

A year ago, when we were all cooped up during round one of our national Covid-19 lockdown, several trends emerged. Many of us were getting to grips with Zoom, doing puzzles, baking banana bread, and others were discovering how to make Dalgona Coffee, supervising remote schooling and watching “My Octopus Teacher” on Netflix.

Earlier this week, “My Octopus Teacher” won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, a first for a South African documentary. Congratulations to directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed and the entire team at the Sea Change Project who worked on this film. This community of scientists, storytellers, journalists and filmmakers are dedicated to protecting the ocean and connecting people from all over the world to the Great African Seaforest and the fascinating creatures that live within it. Pippa and James were in Los Angeles to attend the event, and the rest of the team joined many South Africans who stayed awake to watch the ceremony. We hope the team is still celebrating.  

Watching this documentary again reminded us that The Perth Mint struck a series of coins celebrating Australian Sea Life. This collection includes pure silver proof quality coins of the Hawksbill Turtle, Starfish, Surgeonfish, Manta Ray and the Octopus! Just as the team at Sea Change Project believes that the most powerful thing we can do to protect the Great African Seaforest is to share her stories, the Perth Mint is committed to chronicling the unique creatures that live in Australia’s coral reefs.

This colourful underwater wonder world has been brought to life with stunning artistry and attention to detail, and we think the Australian Sea Life II - The Reef - Octopus 2012 1/2oz Silver Proof Coin is the perfect way to celebrate the success of “My Octopus Teacher” and get started on collecting modern numismatics. 

But why collect coins? Collecting coins is no different from collecting other stuff—art, books, sports memorabilia, wine, comic books, vintage cars or toys. Maybe you are sitting on a collection of vintage Barbies, Pokémon cards or original board games like Monopoly or Scrabble. The main motivation for these types of collections is personal enjoyment. Collecting is fun! We know something is satisfying about collecting coins, and we love having a collection of little treasures: small, intricately designed pieces of beautiful art that we can look at, any time. In fact, we love collecting so much we have created our own brand new podcast series called Collectomania, where we explore different collections - from the serious to the unique to the weird.

But back to coins. You can also learn a lot from collecting coins. Over time, you may find yourself delving into history books, learning about politics, different cultures, iconic individuals and milestone events. Studying coins and their backgrounds can lead to a whole other passion for learning new things! Moreover, collectors find a lot of pleasure in the “treasure hunt.” It can require a lot of research, but it can be exhilarating to find that perfect coin for your collection eventually. Start your modern numismatic journey today and get collecting coins today.