2018 Republic of Congo 1 oz Silver Silverback Gorilla (Prooflike)

This year in particular is the best looking of the series. I will probably end up getting all of them because APMEX always has a great selection, but I just had to start with this one.

I love all the African coins for quality and design. The Silverback Gorilla is an outstanding example of that quality and new design every year and a reasonable cost.

All 20 coins that I bought came with the same "scratch" in the obverse. I would guess they used the same die in 2017 but the "scratch" is thinner, almost invisible, onthose coins. 2016 and 2015 Gorillas are both amazing and beautiful.

I thought this looked like a pretty interesting and detailed design when I saw the announcement of its release - not just a simple figure on one side and a face in profile on the other. Upon receiving the coins and looking at them in person, however, I was disappointed to find that the non-gorilla side looks more scratched than the picture led me to believe. Not sure if this is by design or if there was a flaw in the die or something, but I find it sort of unattractive. Also, the gorilla side itself seems a bit cloudy to me, as if they tried to make the detail too fine and couldn't quite pull it off. For my own sake, I hope they become super popular and in demand thanks to the lower mintage, and perhaps they'll grow on me if I continue to add to my collection and experience a wider variety of coins; but so far not quite up to my expectations.