Royal Canadian Mint unveils new Superman collector coins

Vice President of Marketing at the Royal Canadian Mint Patrick Hadsipantelis, left, and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Peter Van Loan and his son John unveil four new collector coins featuring Superman on Friday, August 29, 2014. (Jesse Johnston / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

TORONTO -- The Royal Canadian Mint on Friday unveiled four limited-edition Superman coins, reproducing colourful iconic images from DC Comics' book covers.

Three of the new coins have been minted in silver, with face values of $10, $15 and $20 and the fourth in gold with a face value of $100. The mint is only producing 10,000 of each silver coin, and the gold coin is limited to a run of 2,000.

The coins were unveiled at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto by a federal minister who said he grew up with the "fantastic" adventures of Superman.

House Leader Peter Van Loan was also quick to point out the Man of Steel's Canadian roots, saying Superman's co-creator was Joe Shuster of Toronto.

"Folks of my generation will know him as a cousin of the famous comedian Frank Shuster of the Wayne and Shuster duo and Joe Shuster was, of course, born in the city," said Van Loan, who brought his daughter and son along to the unveiling.

The new coins are based on art that graced comic book covers in 1938, 1972, 2001 and 2012, including Action Comics #1, which features Superman hoisting a green car above his head in "arguably the most famous comic book of all time," the mint said.

The other coins feature images including Superman's alter ego Clark Kent pulling back his shirt to reveal the S-Shield and Superman in the "classic iteration of his costume," taking to the skies with his cape fluttering behind.

Their launch follows the release last year of seven Superman coins to mark the hero's 75th anniversary.

"By celebrating Superman, we are highlighting the fact that many Canadians share a love of comic books and admiration for one of the world's greatest pop culture heroes," said Patrick Hadsipantelis, vice-president of marketing at the mint.

He said the new coins exemplify the mint's internationally renowned craftsmanship.

The coins are on sale online now and will be available in Canada Post outlets and at other distributors starting next week. The silver coins retail between $69.95 and $109.75 while the 14-karat gold coin sells for $750.95.

Hadsipantelis said there had been international interest in the coins, but they are only available for sale to customers in Canada and the United States under the terms negotiated with DC Entertainment, which owns DC Comics.

However, there is no restriction in reselling them, he said.