Earlier this year, Australia’s Perth Mint issued a three-coin set featuring the iconic Ghostbusters series.
The first of three coins depicts the group of ghost-hunting scientists played by Ottawa-born actor Dan Akroyd as well as Bill Murray and Harold Ramis.
Released in 1984, Ghostbusters is a U.S. supernatural comedy film that follows the story of three scientists working for the paranormal studies department of New York’s Columbia University. After being fired for their unreliable and suspect findings, research, and methods, the three decide to start their own business specializing in paranormal investigations and eliminations known as “Ghostbusters.”
Ghostbusters was a critical and commercial success and launched a popular media franchise, which includes a sequel released in 1989 as well as a remake in 2016.
Designed by Perth Mint artist Thomas Vaughan, the reverse of the first Ghostbusters coin shows the characters as they appeared in the film against a backdrop of New York City and an ominous, green-coloured sky. The design also includes the famous “No Ghosts” logo.
The second Ghostbusters coin depicts ‘Slimer,’ a green ectoplasmic apparition.
COIN 2: SLIMER
The second of three Ghostbusters coins features Slimer, the ectoplasmic apparition that left a trail of disgusting green slime in its wake. As the very first ghost captured by the trio of scientists, Slimer became an enduring icon of the highly successful movie franchise. This coin depicts Slimer being pulled into a Ghost Trap, a sealed container that allowed the Ghostbusters to transport spirits to the containment unit located in the basement of their Firehouse HQ.
Slimer’s territory was the Sedgewick Hotel, where his primary occupation was eating “anything that’s not nailed down or on fire”—as long it wasn’t green broccoli.
During an early encounter with the “ugly little spud” on the hotel’s 12th floor, one of the three scientists was bowled over and splattered in Slimer’s goo. In one of the film’s famous comic lines, the prostrate Ghostbuster was left lamenting, “He slimed me.”
The special effects team on the 1984 classic made three large foam latex models of what was then referred to as “Onionhead.” Each model was created to satisfy a particular requirement—insatiable eating, looking scared, smiling—with cables to adjust the expressions. In the days before computer generated imagery, the team’s innovative techniques helped secure Ghostbusters enduring place in cinematic history.
COIN 3: STAY PUFT
The final coin of Perth Mint’s Ghostbusters set depicts the ghost Stay Puft.
The third and final coin of the Ghostbusters set features the ghost “Stay Puft” walking along the streets of New York City against the backdrop of a lightning storm on the reverse.
Each of the Fine silver $1 coins was issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu. The obverses feature the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, the 2017 year-date and the monetary denomination. Each of the three coins has a weight of 31.107 grams; a 40.6-mm diameter; and a mintage of 5,000 pieces.