The Perth Mints annual bullion coin release in September is one of the most eagerly awaited events in the coin calendar. They add new annual designs to their core bullion series – Koala, Kangaroo, Kookaburra, and the Lunar – and they have done for decades now. We didn’t cover the 2026 debut last year, but throughout the twelve months they’re on sale, we’re treated to a whole plethora of specials, including proof, coloured, antiqued, and best of all, ultra-high-relief variants.

In our view, the best of the 2026 designs was the Kookaburra coin, although it often is, as the bird just lends itself to the coin space so well. The design, by artist Wade Robinson, depicts a Kook in flight over its natural habitat. The bird itself looks fantastic, and the landscape is well realised, creating a fine looking coin. The new releases include possibly the ultimate version, combining everyone’s favourite yellow metal with the Perth Mint’s take on ultra-high-relief (UHR). The Antipodean producer does this type of coin by striking into a concave surface, and instead of the usual antiquing, strikes to a proof mirror finish. The end result is a gorgeous one-ounce coin.

Along with the headline variant, there’s also a quarter-ounce gold proof coin struck to a proof finish, but with regular levels of relief, and two and five ounce UHR versions. Sadly, those latter two are beyond the reach of most, with the five ounce hitting almost $45k AUD, so realistically, the one-ounce UHR will be the big gun for collectors. Silver bullion coins are also available, of course. While this new gold pair are Perth Mint coins, sales outside of Australia are being handled by German dealer Philoro, who have exclusive rights worldwide on the UHR coin, and European exclusive rights on the 1/4oz coin. A very pretty variant of our favourite 2026 Perth Mint bullion design.