Perth Mint launches another new limited mintage nature-themed silver bullion coin – the Quokka

Despite a huge range of nature-themed bullion coins emanating from the Western Australian Perth Mint, they continue to experiment with new ideas. The latest to add to the selection available to collectors is one featuring what has been described as ‘the happiest animal on the planet’, the Quokka.

Also called the Short-tailed scrub wallaby (Setonix brachyurus), it’s a domestic cat sized marsupial, belonging to the same macropod family as kangaroos. A nocturnal herbivore, they’re found in Western Australia, usually posing with a moronic tourist looking for a selfie. Weighing in around 2.5-5 kg, with a body length of 40-54 cm and a tail of 25-30 cm, it is said by Wikipedia to have a ‘promiscuous mating system’. With its love of the camera as well, it seems a career in marsupial porn movies is on the cards…

No surprises on the coin format front. A 40.9 mm reverse-prooflike finish coin of one-ounce weight, in 0.9999 silver, has become a Perth Mint signature over the last few years. It’s well liked, so why not? The reverse design is very clean, with just the coin title inscribed here in any real size. It seems the artist, Ing Ing Jong, has played into peoples perceptions of the creature very well with the pose. The obverse is the usual effigy of QEII, surrounded by all the issue inscriptions, as it should be.

The mintage on this one is capped at 30,000 units, so sitting about mid-way through what constitutes a ‘limited-mintage’ bullion coin these days. No sign of gold bullion or proof silver variants yet, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see them put in an appearance at a later date. Available now, these are an exclusive of EMK Coins in Germany.