In the 1990s, arcades around the world were struggling to keep gamers coming through the doors as the popularity of in-home consoles grew. What the industry needed as a brilliant new game to keep people flocking to arcades, and the 1991 release of Street Fighter II: World Warrior did just that. As of 2017, Street Fighter II was still one of the three highest-grossing video games of all time with revenue of $10 billion. To mark its 30th anniversary, Capcom authorized the use of character images on a series of Fijian silver bullion coins. These beautiful foreign silver coins are now available at Provident Metals.
4 Distinct Reverse Designs
The original Street Fighter game released in 1987 had a limited number of playable characters for gamers to tackle the bosses of the game with. When Street Fighter II was released, the stable of playable characters grew, with some of the bosses from the previous game even becoming playable characters for gamers competing in the player-vs.-player mode. Below are four of the main characters from Street Fighter II highlighted in the 4-coin Colorized Street Fighter II release:
- Ryu Coin: for the reverse design of the Ryu release, you will see the figure of Ryu standing with his arms folded across his chest. Ryu always wears a white Gi with a black belt and red headband.
- M-Bison Coin: featured as a non-playable character in the first Street Fighter game, M-Bison became one of the first bosses players could use when playing the PVP mode in Street Fighter II. This design shows M-Bison in his red military uniform with blue gloves.
- Chun-Li Coin: the first major, playable female character in a fighting video game, Chun-Li is on a revenge mission against M-Bison. An Interpol officer skilled in Chinese Kempo, Chun-Li is seeking to avenge her father’s death at the hands of M-Bison. Her figure is shown in a forward-facing stance as she looks to her right. She wears a blue outfit with red tights and has spiked wristbands on.
- Vega Coin: one of the new characters introduced in Street Fighter II, Vega is based on a character from the original Street Fighter but delivers new visuals. Vega is shown in an active, fighting stands on this side. He is often shown shirtless in the game, with a white mask covering his face and wearing brightly colored pants. His primary offensive weapon is a set of spikes on his left hand.
A Common Obverse Design
On the obverse of all coins in the series is a depiction of the national coat of arms for Fiji. The national seal of Fiji consists of a quartered shield. The quadrants feature images of sugar cane, a coconut palm, a dove with an olive branch, and a bundle of bananas. The top of the shield has a lion in passant guardant with a cocoa pod in its paws. Above the shield, you will notice a Polynesian canoe with an outrigger attachment and two native Fijian figures. The inscriptions on this side of the coin read FIJI, 2021, 1 OZ, .999 FINE SILVER, and 50 CENTS.
Release Information
The coins in the Colorized Street Fighter II Silver Series come with individual capsules. Each coin is a 1 oz Silver coin with a $.50 face value backed by the Reserve Bank of Fiji. These coins have colorization only on the reverse fields, with the character, Street Fighter II name, and Capcom logo all colorized. There is a limited mintage for each design of just 5,000 silver coins.
Background on Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II debuted at just the right time for thousands of arcades around the world. The rise of in-home consoles like Nintendo and Super Nintendo presented a challenge for arcades everywhere. The popularity of the game changes in Street Fighter II and the enhanced player-v-player focus helped drive more gamers to arcades. In total, Street Fighter II sold more than 200,000 arcade cabinets around the world, with 15 million software units also sold. On the Super Nintendo console alone, 6.3 million copies of the game were sold, making it the best-selling single software game from Capcom for more than two decades.
Collect These Colorized Street Fighter II Coins While You Can!
Now is the perfect time to collect Colorized Street Fighter II coins. With limited mintages, these coins are gone for good once they are sold out. Provident Metals’ customer service is available to assist you at 800-313-3315. You can also chat with us live online or email us directly. Remember to follow us on Facebook and check back with our blog each week for more information on the next exciting release.
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