Perhaps no animal is as singularly identified with a nation as the kangaroo is with Australia. The marvelous marsupial is one of three creatures featured on Australia's precious metal coinage.
Australia's gold coinage honors the kangaroo while the nation's platinum coinage features the eucalyptus-eating koala and the silver bullion coinage captures the cackling kookaburra.
But before exploring the history of Australia's bullion coinage, it's important to understand what bullion coins are and why collectors are even interested in them. Bullion coins are noncirculating legal tender coins intended to be sold for their precious metal content rather than at face value or at a collector premium.
People buying bullion coins are buying them as an investment, not due to rarity. They are buying the metal and not the coin, although the practice of changing designs yearly has changed that a little.
|
Click on image to enlarge
|
|
KANGAROOS WERE the new design motif, beginning in 1990, because many people didn't like how the big "rocks" looked on the back of the coin.
|
Gold 'Nuggets'
Australia began issuing gold bullion coins in 1986, excellent timing considering worldwide condemnation of the South African policy of apartheid. The South African bullion coin, the Krugerrand, happened to dominate the bullion market as late as 1984, but resistance to the coin grew as the world became less tolerant of apartheid. Some governments, including that in the United States, banned importation of new Krugerrands and instituted other anti-South African government measures.
Australia was just one of several countries to capitalize; Canada's Maple Leaf was introduced in 1979 and, by 1986, was dominating the market. China released the Panda in 1982, and the U.S. American Eagle gold and silver bullion coin program made its debut in late 1986.
The Perth Mint in Western Australia, operated by Gold Corporation (owned by the Australian government), mints Australia's gold bullion coinage. Western Australia has long been the center of Australia's gold mining history
|
Click on image to enlarge
|
|
THE HALF-OUNCE SQUARE Kookaburra coin resembles a pattern penny struck between 1919 and 1921, but features the same design scheme as the round coins in the 2004 series.
|
That history was honored with Australia's first gold coins. The reverse designs incorporate images of Australia's largest, most significant gold nugget finds. The 1-ounce coin honors the "Welcome Stranger" nugget, weighing 2,284 ounces, found in 1869. The half-ounce coin recognizes "Hand of Faith," a 720-ounce nugget found in 1980. The "Golden Eagle" nugget, weighing 1,235 ounces, appears on the quarter-ounce Nugget, and the "Little Hero" nugget of 333 ounces appears on the tenth-ounce Nugget.
These were the first Proof .9999 fine gold bullion coins in the world, and also the first bullion coins to have a mintage limit.
The series honoring nuggets lasted a few more years until Australia revamped the program in 1989. Many people thought the coins weren't attractive because of the "rocks" on the reverse, according to Coin World Almanac.
Between 1990 and 1994, the coins depicted a different species of kangaroo, the red kangaroo in 1990, the grey kangaroo in 1991, the common wallaroo in 1992, the nail-tailed wallaby in 1993 and the whiptail wallaby in 1994.
|
Click on image to enlarge
|
|
THE PERTH MINT'S 2004 Kookaburra series 1-ounce, 2-ounce and kilo coin share this design. The kookaburra is a bird that lives in Australia with a cackling, almost human-like call.
|
Since 1995, generic representations of kangaroos have appeared, some of the designs including a kangaroo leaping to the right or a mother kangaroo and joey together.
Perth Mint officials change mintage figures annually. The figures quoted here reflect those for the most recent issues.
The 1-ounce coin, with a mintage limit of 350,000, is denominated $100, weighs 31.162 grams and measures 32.1 millimeters in diameter.
The half-ounce coin, with a mintage limit of 100,000, is denominated $50, weighs 15.594 grams and measures 25.1 millimeters.
The quarter-ounce coin, with a mintage limit of 150,000, is denominated $25, weighs 7.807 grams and measures 20.19 millimeters.
The tenth-ounce coin, with a mintage limit of 200,000, is denominated $10, weighs 3.133 grams and measures 16.1 millimeters.
The twentieth-ounce coin, added in 1989, has a mintage limit of 200,000, is denominated $5, weighs 1.555 grams and measures 13.7 millimeters.
|
Click on image to enlarge
|
|
KOALAS, eucalyptus-leaf eating animals, appear on Australia's platinum bullion coinage. Because of their diet, koalas sleep about 21 hours a day.
|
Beginning in 1991, Australia released large-size bullion coins that share the common "Red Kangaroo" design. The coins are available in 2-ounce, 10-ounce and 1,000-gram sizes with unlimited mintages. The first year, the face values were $500, $2,500 and $10,000, respectively, before decreasing the next year to $200, $1,000 and $3,000.
The 2-ounce coin weighs 62.324 grams and measures 40.40 millimeters. The 10-ounce coin weighs 311.62 grams and measures 59.7 millimeters. The largest coin, the one kilo, weighs 1000.1 grams and measures 74.5 millimeters.
Platinum Koalas
The koala, another Australian animal, is featured on the .9995 fine platinum coins bearing its name. The coin series began in 1988 featuring koalas in various designs and is available in five sizes. As with the gold coins, the Perth Mint changes the mintage figures yearly.
The 1-ounce coin is denominated $100, weighs 31.12 grams and measures 32.1 millimeters.
The half-ounce coin, denominated $50, weighs 15.56 grams and measures 25.1 millimeters, and the quarter-ounce coin, denominated $25, weighs 7.78 grams and measures 20.1 millimeters.
The tenth-ounce coin, denominated $10, weighs 3.112 grams and measures 16.1 millimeters and the twentieth-ounce coin, denominated $5, weighs 1.556 grams and measures 14.1 millimeters.
Beginning in 1991, the koala became available in the large bullion sizes of 2 ounces, 10 ounces and one kilo. The 2-ounce coin, denominated $200, weighs 62.18 grams and measures 40.6 millimeters, while the 10-ounce coin weighs 311.05 grams and measures 60.3 millimeters in diameter. The 1-kilo coin weighs a kilo and measures 75.3 millimeters.
Silver Kookaburras
The kookaburra is a bird with a rolling, cackling laugh. It's memorialized yearly in Australia's silver coinage series that shares its name. The Kookaburra series, which made its debut in 1990, comes in four sizes, and the designs and mintages change yearly.
In 1990 and 1991, the 1-ounce coin had a face value of $5 and was the only Kookaburra minted.
The 1-ounce coin, denominated $1, weighs 31.135 grams and measures 40.6 millimeters and the 2-ounce coin, denominated $2, weighs 62.27 grams and measures 50.3 millimeters. The 10-ounce coin, denominated $10, weighs 311.346 grams and measures 75.5 millimeters and the 1-kilo coin, denominated $30, weighs 1001 grams and measures 101mm.
Several privy mark Kookaburras have been issued over the years. Privy marks are small markings added to the coin, usually celebrating a special event. In 1996 and 1997, there were privy marks celebrating nations in Europe. For France, for instance, a miniature Eiffel Tower appeared.
Prior to that, several Australian cultural and national symbols appear, including the Sydney Opera House in 1993 and the Melbourne Centenary in 1995. Even a U.S. coin, the Liberty Head 5-cent coin, was honored with a privy mark, also in 1995.
The set grew in 2002 with the addition of a half-ounce coin, resembling an Australian pattern penny struck between 1919 and 1921.
Lunar series
In 1996, Australia released a special gold series featuring the animals of the Chinese Lunar calendar. Each year of the 12-year series there are 1-ounce, quarter-ounce and tenth-ounce coins with the same specifications as their standard counterparts. A series of silver coins was released in 1999, again following the Chinese Lunar calendar and again, sharing the specifications of the standard silver kookaburras.
