Australia’s favourite animals feature on a second premium 5oz gold coin

If you asked most people what they thought made Australia so distinct from the rest of the world, we bet they’d say it’s the wildlife. Not a bad reason we’d agree. What fauna there is that doesn’t want to inflict pain on you – a depressingly small proportion – is often just plain odd. Home to whole groups of animals that exist nowhere else, and ones that are unlike anything else in the world, it’s no surprise that they feature heavily on the numismatics issued by the mints in Australia.

The Perth Mint has it’s bullion ranges with their almost endless permutations of specials, but the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) is certainly no slouch in the genre. Several ranges have been ongoing; crocodiles, kangaroos and koalas for example, but for what you could almost call their flagship wildlife release, the RAM has concentrated on what it calls its Fabulous Four. Four iconic animals, the Koala, Kookaburra, Emu, and Kangaroo, take pride of place on a single design. Each year sees one of them given extra prominence, but all four feature every time. Last year was the turn of the kangaroo, this year it’s the koala.

At five ounces (155.5g) of 0.9999 gold in weight and with a mintage of just 99 units, this isn’t a bargain basement item and the €8,950 price reflects that. It is an exclusive and well realised proof coin, however. Depicting the shape of Australia in the background, overlaid upon it are images of the four previously mentioned animals. One of them, in this years case the koala, is depicted larger than the others. The artwork for each of the four animals is all new each year, not simply an enlargement of an ongoing image. An image of last years coin is shown further down the page. The obverse has been enhanced with an intricate band pattern surrounding the usual Queens effigy.

Packaging is as high quality as you would expect at this level, devoid of gimmickry and going with a classic look. German mega-dealer EMK are responsible for the coins sales, taking on the entire mintage, so if you’re fortunate enough to have this within budget, the link at the bottom of the page will take you direct to the appropriate page.

REVERSE AND OBVERSE FACES

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The coin´s reverse depicts the four most famous Australian animals – Kangaroo – Koala – Kookaburra and Emu – united together. The design also includes the inscription AUSTRALIAN FABULOUS FOUR, the 2016 year-date, the metal and fineness. The coin´s obverse depicts the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. artfully designed with floral ornaments for the very first time.

The coin is housed in a prestigious wooden display case, within an illustrated shipper, and is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

PACKAGING AND THE 2015 COIN

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SPECIFICATION

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION WEIGHT DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE BOX / COA
$500 AUD 0.9999 GOLD 155.5 g 59.80 mm PROOF 99 YES / YES

MINT LINK

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