Australia’s ‘Southern Skies’ gold and silver bullion coin series returns with a platypus privy mark

The Royal Australian Mint’s Stuart Devlin inspired bullion coin series ‘Southern Skies’ has returned after its 2020 debut. In truth, it’s largely the same as last years design and the coin is clearly designed to fill the niche that almost all the big mints have – that of an yearly bullion coin with an unchanging base design. Even the Perth Mint, famous for its annually varying bullion ranges recognised the need and introduced the Silver Kangaroo, and Scottsdale Mint has its Trident and Marlin ranges.

This one does have a small variable to mark the passage of each year, an animal privy mark, which resides on the reverse face in the south-eastern region of the map of Australia. The 2020 coin featured a kangaroo, and the 2021 depicts the platypus. Of note, the silver variant remains the only one from this mint in 0.9999 fineness, every other silver bullion coin using 0.999 quality metal. A moot point in our view, but it might be important to you. Both versions are available to order now and have an unlimited mintage.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The Royal Australian Mint is proud to present the 2021 $100 1oz Gold Investment Coin and 2021 $1 1oz Silver Investment Coin as the latest release in the Beneath the Southern Skies series. Quintessentially Australian, the design pays homage to Stuart Devlin, who designed Australia’s first decimal coinage, and features a platypus in Sydney’s position on a map of Australia.

Following the series’ first release in 2020, the 2021 $100 1oz Gold Investment Coin and 2021 $1 1oz Silver Investment Coin design is quintessentially Australian and includes a map of Australia and the Southern Cross, inspired by one of Stuart Devlin’s original sketches. The coins also feature New South Wales’ animal emblem, the platypus, in place of Sydney.

Devlin, commonly regarded as the father of Australia’s modern currency, designed Australia’s first decimal coinage and these coins reimagine one of Devlin’s original sketches more than 50 years ago. The gold and silver investment pieces also pay tribute to the Royal Australian Mint’s award-winning Southern and Northern Sky series, while the silver coin is the first and only 99.99% pure silver coin produced by the Mint. Part of an ongoing series, these coins will be coveted by domestic and international collectors alike.