Obi-Wan's lightsaber in silver: the Lightsaber Radiance Collection begins

Some pieces are coins that picture a thing. This one is closer to the thing itself. The centrepiece of the Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi Lightsaber Collectible Set is a shaped, high-relief 1/2oz silver rendering of Obi-Wan's lightsaber hilt, struck in 999 pure silver with a proof finish and metallic colour. One edge is smooth, the other milled. It sits somewhere between coin and miniature, and photographs do not quite do the relief justice.

Alongside the hilt sits a 5g pure silver foil showing Obi-Wan with lightsaber ignited, blue light effects across the design. Flip it over and there is a frost print of the lightsaber outline and the Jedi symbol, with the Niue public seal confirming legal tender status.

The pair arrives together in a dual-window presentation box with an authentication mark, so both pieces display without being unpackaged. Both the hilt and the foil are individually numbered from a mintage of just 1,000 sets worldwide.

One honest note on the numbering: the number on your coin and the number on your foil are not guaranteed to match. That is worth knowing before you buy if matched numbers matter to you.

This is the first release in the Lightsaber Radiance Collection from Agoro by New Zealand Mint, and that first-release status is worth a moment's thought. Collectors who follow licensed series know how this goes: the opening piece is bought casually, the series builds a following, and the first release becomes the one everyone is hunting two years later. At 1,000 sets, there is not much room for latecomers.

Obi-Wan is a fitting place for the series to start. Patient, precise and unyielding, as the Mint puts it, and the weapon is as recognisable as the man. If the collection works through the saga's other sabers from here, this is the shelf position you want filled first.

The set is $315 and in stock now at mintcoinshop.com.au.