Having a bad Monday? Mellow out with a cow, or swim with a penguin on the Royal Australian Mint’s new bullion coins
Not one, but two new bullion coins have dropped at the Royal Australian Mint today, one a continuation of an existing series, the other the first in a new one. The all-new range is called the ‘Australian Antarctic Territory Series’ and will showcase the wildlife found in the Australian administered southern territory.
It’s starting off with the Emperor Penguin, the largest of all the penguin species, and one relatively common throughout Antarctica and the
Australian Antarctic Territory. How long that remains is open to question, given they suffer at the hands of human interference, as with most creatures on the planet.
The coin depicts an adult with a chick in the foreground, while in the background is a queue of adults lining up to jump into the sea, in the best traditions of a David Attenborough documentary. It does hammer home what an unusual bird they are. A good design, it’s available in one-ounce silver or gold, the latter boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity. A neat idea for a series, and one we look forward to covering in the future.
The second design released today is the third in the RAM’s ‘Coat-of-Arms’ series, which reimagine, often is quite quirky terms, the state emblems of Australia’s political regions. The latest release features elements of the arms of Queensland, the oldest in Australia, granted by Queen Victoria in 1893. It features a rampant stag and brolga, plus images of cattle, sheep, wheat and gold, symbolising the then colony’s great wealth, along with the Latin motto Audax at Fidelis – Bold but Faithful.
The brolga is the state bird, and the stag, while not a native, symbolises the link to the old world. The obverse design depicts a Brolga, a cow and ram, the latter pair definitely embracing the more mellowed-out lifestyle. They stand in a field of wheat and sugarcane, although from the expression on his face, we reckon the bull has found something else…
The reverse face is considerably more heraldic in style, featuring a red deer, over a Maltese cross overlaid with a royal crown, and a knight’s helmet. The state motto, and the coin composition, sit either side of that helmet. A contrast to the obverse, it’s hard not to like the way this coin has been done. As with the penguins, there are one-ounce silver and gold variants, both with higher mintages, considerably so for the gold.
| SPECIFICATION | |||||
| COIN | DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIAMETER | FINISH | MINTAGE |
| PENGUIN Ag | $1 AUD (Australia) | 31.1 g of 0.999 silver | 40.00 mm | B / UNC | 25,000 |
| PENGUIN Au | $100 AUD (Australia) | 31.1 g of 0.9999 gold | 38.74 mm | B / UNC | 250 |
| QUEENSLAND Ag | $1 AUD (Australia) | 31.1 g of 0.999 silver | 40.00 mm | B / UNC | 50,000 |
| QUEENSLAND Au | $100 AUD (Australia) | 31.1 g of 0.999 silver | 38.74 mm | B / UNC | 5,000 |
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