Mermaid Silver

The Samoa Mermaid Silver Coin from Scottsdale Mint

The Mermaid, officially the "Princess of the Sea" series, is a 1 oz silver bullion coin struck by Scottsdale Mint of Arizona and issued as legal tender of Samoa with a face value of 2 Tala. It launched in late 2021 and forms part of Scottsdale's broader Pacific-themed silver coin programme issued through Samoa. The coin contains 1 troy oz of .999 fine silver and is identifiable, like most Scottsdale products, by the mint's lion hallmark.

This is a semi-numismatic coin rather than mass-market bullion. The 2022 brilliant uncirculated issue was capped at 15,000 coins, with an antique-finish variant at 5,000 and a colourised version at 2,000. Those numbers put it far below the mintages of mainstream silver coins struck in the millions, and the pricing reflects it: premiums tend to sit above generic rounds but below heavily limited collector coins.

The buying decision is therefore about design and scarcity rather than cost per ounce. The reverse changes character year to year, from the darker, mythology-heavy mermaid of the 2021 first issue to the elegant pearl-holding figure of 2022, and low caps mean individual dates can develop their own secondary markets. Buyers who want the cheapest silver should look at higher-mintage coins or rounds; buyers who want a low-mintage sovereign-issued series with a distinctive theme are the Mermaid's audience. Note one quirk of the arrangement: although struck in Arizona, the coin is not US legal tender; its face value comes from the Government of Samoa.

Mermaid Coin Specifications and Variants

The series is issued in a single 1 oz silver denomination, with finish variants distinguishing the collector tiers within each year.

The 2022 release came in three variants:

Security rests on the packaging rather than the coin itself: the Certi-Lock tamper-evident capsules carry unique serial numbers on the colourised variant, but the coins have no Veriscan or latent-image technology in the strike. The obverse on all variants carries the Samoan national coat of arms with the inscription Fa'avae I Le Atua Samoa ("God be the Foundation of Samoa").

Mermaid Coin Tax Treatment

The Mermaid is legal tender in Samoa only. That status earns it no concessions in the major buying markets, where it is taxed as imported fine silver.

• United States: No federal sales tax, but as a non-domestic mint product it is subject to state sales tax in most US states. IRA eligibility is not confirmed for this series, so buyers planning retirement-account holdings should assume it does not qualify.
• United Kingdom: New silver carries 20% VAT, and as a non-UK coin the Mermaid has no CGT exemption; gains above the £3,000 annual allowance are taxable. Pre-owned coins may be available under the margin scheme, where VAT applies only to the dealer's margin.
• European Union: Full local VAT rates on silver, from 17% to 27% depending on member state, with margin schemes for pre-owned coins in Germany and the Netherlands.
• Canada: Generally GST/HST exempt as a silver coin of 99.9% or better purity.
• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade silver at 99.9% purity in coin form, provided it is traded as bullion rather than at numismatic prices; collector-priced variants can attract 10% GST.
• Singapore and Hong Kong: Singapore exempts qualifying investment precious metals from GST; Hong Kong has no sales tax on bullion at all.

From Dark Mythology to Princess of the Sea

The series launched in late 2021 with a first issue that leaned into the darker side of mermaid mythology: a more menacing figure surrounded by turbulent underwater elements. The 2022 second issue marked a deliberate shift in direction. Branded "Princess of the Sea", it depicts an elegant mermaid swimming calmly through a turbulent ocean holding a string of pearls, framed by an intricate border of seashells, with the design brief emphasising feminine beauty over mythology. A colourised variant applies subtle colour over the mermaid while keeping the standard obverse.

The obverse has remained constant across years: the Samoan national coat of arms with the motto Fa'avae I Le Atua Samoa. The arrangement behind the coin is itself a piece of modern bullion history. Scottsdale Mint is one of several US private mints that license sovereignty from Pacific Island nations, with Samoa, Fiji, Niue, and Tuvalu all lending face-value denominations to privately struck coins. The model gives a private mint's design programme the legal tender status, and the collector credibility, of a government issue, while all production stays at Scottsdale's Arizona facility.

Within that programme the Mermaid is one of the younger lines, and its short history is part of the appeal for collectors: a complete date run is still achievable from the start. The antique-finish variant, capped at 5,000, has already shown the pattern typical of low-mintage tiers, commanding a noticeable premium on the secondary market over the standard brilliant uncirculated coin.

Mermaid vs Other Pacific Silver and Mass-Market Bullion

The Mermaid's closest competition is other Pacific-issued silver from private mints: Fiji mermaid coins from various makers, Niue-issued series, and Tokelau coins all work the same licensed-sovereignty model. Within Scottsdale Mint's own stable, the Ghana Alien series at 25,000 BU mintage sits in the same semi-numismatic bracket; the Mermaid's 15,000 cap is tighter. Choosing between these comes down to theme and date availability more than specification, since most are 1 oz .999 coins with similar packaging conventions.

Against mass-market bullion the contrast is structural. An American Silver Eagle is struck in the millions, enjoys the deepest resale market in silver, and is instantly recognised by any dealer; the Mermaid's 15,000 coins cannot match that liquidity, and exit pricing depends partly on finding collector demand for the specific date and finish. The compensation is scarcity: mass bullion will never be rare, where a capped series can be.

On cost, the Mermaid occupies the middle ground its mintage implies. Premiums run higher than generic rounds, which deliver the same .999 silver content without face value or caps, but lower than heavily limited collector coins. The practical sorting: stackers prioritising ounces should buy generics or high-mintage sovereigns; collectors wanting a low-mintage series with annual design changes and three finish tiers per year get exactly that here, with the antique and colourised variants offering further scarcity steps within each date.