The Royal Australian Mint expands two of its popular nature-themed gold and silver bullion coin ranges with new additions

The Royal Australian Mint has been quietly picking up a great reputation for its bullion coin range that prior to 2020 had actually been quite limited. The range has been varied, with a couple of neat naval history series, an astronomical series, and one looking at Australia’s heraldic history, but it’s fair to say that the natural world is their primary focus. Not unusual for mints in that part of the world.

It’s the natural world that inspires the two new additions we’re showing today. The Hourglass Dolphin is the sixth in the ‘Dolphins’ range, an attractive one looking at some of the most beloved animals in our marine environments. The Giraffe is the fifth in the Australia Zoo range, which differs in having wildly different designs on the silver and gold variants. Both ranges are gold and silver, with one-ounce being the only offered weight. They have identical mintages as well.

AUSTRALIA ZOO: GIRAFFE

Australia Zoo could almost be considered the flagship series of the RAM’s bullion range. Other than the likely defunct Pirate Queens series, it’s unique in carrying completely different reverse face artwork on the gold and silver coins. Each annual release has a specific animal theme, in this case, the giraffe, but they’re depicted differently on each metal. The gold coin has a tiny mintage of just 250 pieces, so very few will ever get to enjoy that design in their collection.

The silver coin is a touching portrayal of an adult with a calf, interacting in close-up. The height is hinted at by the tree top, and there’s a mountain range on the horizon. An attractive design, as is that on the gold coin. Here, the pair are depicted fully, with the emphasis more on the ground underfoot, with just some sparse clouds in the background field, and the sun, that also puts in an appearance on the silver.

HOURGLASS DOLPHIN

The second release is the sixth in the ‘Dolphins’ series. You’d have thought that a series based around a family of animals with quite similar characteristics would be difficult to inject much variety into, but the RAM has done a fine job of doing just that since 2019. The 2024 coin features the Hourglass Dolphin, a striking black and white species, one of the smallest dolphins, and entirely based in Antarctic waters. That remote location has helped it be one of the few to have escaped declining numbers, thankfully.

It’s another good-looking coin, depicting a pair of these playful creatures breaching the surface. The striking dual-colour natural appearance is hinted at using texturing, and quite successfully if these renders are a reliable indicator. A pretty addition to a charming range. Unlike Australia Zoo, the gold and silver coins carry the same artwork, but mintages are the same at 25k for the silver, and just 250 for the gold, the latter boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity. All the coins here are available to order from today.

COMMON OBVERSE & GOLD PACKAGING

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE
$1 AUD (Australia) 31.1 g of 0.999 silver 40.0 mm B/Unc 25,000
$100 AUD (Australia) 31.1 g of 0.9999 gold 38.74 mm B/Unc 250