Witchcraft Silver

Germania Mint Witchcraft: Octagonal Silver with Germanic Folklore

The Witchcraft series from Germania Mint features powerful women from pre-Christian Germanic folklore, each rendered in .9999 fine silver and struck in a distinctive octagonal shape. Launched in 2023 with the Seeress and continued in 2025 with the Herbalist, the series is planned for four releases through 2029, each separated by two years.

The octagonal form factor is the most immediately distinctive feature. Standard bullion rounds and coins are circular. The eight-sided shape makes the Witchcraft series instantly recognisable in a collection and serves as an inherent authentication marker, since counterfeiters overwhelmingly replicate standard round shapes. The shape also gives each piece more visual presence than a circle of equivalent weight.

These are privately minted rounds, not government-issued legal tender. They carry no face value and no sovereign backing. That distinction matters for tax treatment and retirement account eligibility, but for buyers focused on silver content and design quality, the four-nines purity matches or exceeds most sovereign mint products.

Germania Mint produces each design in three tiers: a standard Brilliant Uncirculated edition (1 oz), a Ritual edition with antique patina and gold accents (1 oz), and an Ultra High Relief edition (2 oz) with selective colourisation and a genuine gemstone inset. The tiered approach means the same design is accessible as affordable bullion at the BU level and as a premium collectible at the UHR level.

Witchcraft Series Specifications by Edition

Mintage by Release and Edition

The Herbalist mintages dropped sharply across all three editions, with the 2 oz UHR cut in half from 999 to 500 pieces. At 500 pieces, the Herbalist UHR sits in numismatic territory rather than traditional bullion. It includes a genuine amethyst stone inset and UV-reactive hidden motifs visible only under ultraviolet light, adding authentication elements that are extremely difficult to counterfeit.

All pieces ship in protective capsules with a Certificate of Authenticity. The octagonal shape is consistent across all editions and serves as both an aesthetic choice and a practical anti-counterfeiting feature, since counterfeiters overwhelmingly replicate standard circular shapes. Designer Mateusz Frackowiak created both the Seeress and Herbalist designs, maintaining a consistent visual language of detailed portraiture, flowing hair, natural elements, and companion animals across the series.

Tax Treatment for Germania Mint Witchcraft Rounds

The Witchcraft series consists of privately minted silver rounds, not legal tender coins. This classification has specific tax implications in each country.

• United States: No federal sales tax. State-level treatment varies; roughly 35 states exempt bullion from sales tax. Not IRA-eligible, since precious metals IRAs require products from a NYMEX/COMEX-approved refiner or national government mint, and Germania Mint is a private operation. Capital gains are taxed at the 28% collectibles rate for holdings over one year.
• United Kingdom: Subject to 20% VAT as silver bullion. No CGT exemption, since these are not legal tender. Pre-owned examples sold through the margin scheme would carry VAT only on the dealer's margin.
• Canada: Subject to GST/HST. Not RRSP-eligible. The .9999 purity exceeds the 99.9% threshold for the federal silver exemption, but private mint rounds may not qualify depending on the form classification.
• EU/Germany: Standard VAT applies. In Germany, despite the Germanic branding, these are not German government products. The standard 19% VAT rate applies, though the margin scheme (Differenzbesteuerung) may be available on pre-owned pieces.
• Australia: Subject to 10% GST. Private mint rounds may not qualify for the investment-grade precious metals GST exemption.
• Singapore: Not listed on the MAS-approved Investment Precious Metals list. Subject to 9% GST.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax, no import duty, no capital gains tax.

Wise Women of the Germanic World

The Witchcraft series draws from the historical role of wise women in pre-Christian Germanic cultures. These were not the persecuted figures of later witch trials, but respected practitioners who served as healers, herbalists, prophets, and spiritual leaders in their communities. Germania Mint describes them as women who "surrounded themselves with animals and willingly shared their knowledge of plants."

The first release, the Seeress (2023), depicts a Volva, a prophetess figure central to Norse mythology. The Voluspa ("Prophecy of the Seeress") is the opening poem of the Poetic Edda and recounts the creation and eventual destruction of the world. The coin's figure wears ceremonial attire, including a diadem and pendant crafted from deer skull fragments and antlers, and grasps a ceremonial staff symbolising mystical authority. The 20,000 BU mintage sold through major US dealers including JM Bullion and Provident Metals.

The Herbalist (2025) shifts focus to the botanical knowledge these women held. The design features Ratatosk, the mythical squirrel from Yggdrasil (the Norse world tree) who runs between the eagle at the crown and the dragon Nidhogg at the roots, carrying messages and insults between them. On the UHR edition, the embedded amethyst is a deliberate thematic choice: amethyst was historically believed to protect against intoxication and poison, linking it to the herbalist's pharmacological knowledge. The UV-reactive hidden motifs add a layer of "secret knowledge" that echoes the series theme.

Two further releases are planned for 2027 and 2029, though the characters have not been revealed. Mateusz Frackowiak, who designed both existing releases, maintains a consistent aesthetic throughout: detailed portraiture, flowing hair, natural elements, and companion animals.

Witchcraft vs Other Germania Mint and Private Mint Silver

Within Germania Mint's own catalogue, the closest comparison is the Beasts series. Both use .9999 silver and the same tiered format (BU, Ritual/Geminus, UHR). The Beasts series features mythological creatures, while Witchcraft focuses on human figures. The Witchcraft series has lower mintages across all editions, particularly the 500-piece Herbalist UHR, which is firmly in numismatic territory. Both series are octagonal, making them visually distinct from the rest of the bullion market.

Against Perth Mint goddess-themed coins, the Witchcraft rounds lose on liquidity and tax treatment. Perth Mint products are government-backed legal tender with broad dealer recognition and eligibility for retirement accounts in several countries. The Witchcraft rounds trade on a smaller secondary market. The advantage goes to Germania Mint on artistic ambition: the gemstone insets, UV-reactive elements, and octagonal shape push into territory that sovereign mints rarely explore.

Compared to other private mint offerings like the Monarch Precious Metals Zodiac rounds, the Witchcraft series commands higher premiums but offers more technical sophistication. The Monarch Zodiac rounds use .999 silver with an antique finish at accessible premiums. The Witchcraft pieces use .9999 silver with more elaborate finishing, and the UHR editions incorporate mixed media that is genuinely unusual in the bullion market.

For buyers who want pure bullion at the lowest premium, none of these private mint series compete with sovereign products like the Silver Maple Leaf or Silver Britannia. The Witchcraft series targets a different buyer: someone who values design, limited production, and physical distinctiveness alongside their silver content.