It’s a snake. It lives in Australia. Those two facts should give you pause for thought, as it’s highly likely a nip from it will have you meeting your maker. That is indeed the case, and the Tiger Snake (the name is a clue!), sports a venom consisting of, not just neurotoxins, but also coagulants, haemolysins, and myotoxins. Almost 1-in-5 snakebites in Oz are down to this critter, which given it injects between 35-65 mg of venom when it bites, and only 3 mg is needed to have a human pushing up the daisies, is quite concerning.

A pretty animal, often banded in yellow and black, it’s found over Southern Australia and Tasmania, able to swim and climb trees, but preferring to hunt on the ground, especially around fresh water. They generally grow to around 1.2 m in length, and are able to have up to 60 young at a time, so the snake is quite plentiful. I’m sure the local population is overjoyed…

The coin is the fifth in the Royal Australian Mint’s ‘Australia’s Most Dangerous’ bullion series, surprisingly the first reptile to join the range, although we suspect the Saltie will arrive soon. It’s been a super series to date, and the Tiger Snake keeps up that standard. Mintages are quite limited for a national mint, with 25,000 silver, and just 250 gold, both an ounce in weight. The obverse still has that memorial Queen Elizabeth II effigy. Both versions are available to order now. We’ve added it to our comprehensive summary profile of recent RAM bullion.