In what has been a fairly epic month for the Perth Mint, starting with the début of the sequel to the smash-hit Gods of Olympus coins, as well as the first releases in the mints new Star Trek licence, it’s easy to forget those were just a part of the release run for February.

With the release of a special proof Kookaburra and an additional entrant in the commissioned series ‘Famous Ships That Never Sailed’ to be covered later, the four coins below are centred around two themes that we’d imagine the Perth Mint considers it core; nature and history.

There are a further pair of ANZAC First World War commemorative coins, a subject that the Royal Australian Mint and the New Zealand Post are also strongly involved in, one gold and one silver. The gold coin is a 2oz lump with mintage of only 100. It’s also an excellent design in our view, managing to depict perspective with great skill. The silver takes a different approach, concentrating on the sea assault and incorporating just the smallest bit of colour enhancement that’s both well handled and unobtrusive. Spec-wise it’s standard Perth fare.

The nature coins are completely different styles. The Mini-Roo sees a tiny 0.5g gold round, an increasingly popular size, with a very clean image. We find that’s important given the small diameter, and designs this size that try to fit too much in rarely work well. The other is the third of five Australian dinosaur coins, themselves a follow-up to a set of five Australian Megafauna coins of identical specification last year. We always like a good dinosaur coin, and these are nice examples, almost up there with the Austrian Mints superb series and the RCM’s ‘Canadian Dinosaurs’ of last year.

All are available to buy now from the Perth Mint website (affiliate link below article).

ANZAC SPIRIT: BAPTISM OF FIRE

MINTS DESCRIPTION

In April 1915, more than 20,000 men of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) were ordered to land on the western side of the Gallipoli peninsula.

Australian troops landed on the beach that would later become known as Anzac Cove in the early hours of 25 April. As the troops came ashore they came under fire, and many were killed or wounded in the battle’s opening moments.

Despite the chaos, the Anzacs persevered under increasingly heavy fire. By nightfall they had established a precarious beachhead but had suffered the loss of more than 2,000 men. The events of that day marked the beginning of a legend that has endured for the past century.

DESIGN: The coin’s reverse depicts Anzac soldiers as they battled to scale the cliffs above Anzac Cove. The design includes one soldier in the foreground, a red poppy, the inscription 1915 – BAPTISM OF FIRE, and The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark.

The coin’s high relief reverse and obverse are minted on concave surfaces to ensure the optimum flow of metal is achieved by the strike of the die and  edged lettering features around the coin’s rim with the words, “PRIDE • RESPECT • GRATITUDE •”

PACKAGING: Each coin will be presented in a black and red themed display case featuring the words PRIDE, RESPECT, and GRATITUDE on the outside of the case, within a themed shipper, and accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

The Wade Robinson designed coin sells for $5,050 AUD ($459.09 less for non-Australians)

SPECIFICATION

ANZAC SPIRIT: MAKING OF A NATION

MINTS DESCRIPTION

By the end of the Gallipoli campaign more than 10,000 Australian and New Zealand troops had lost their lives and some 18,000 had been wounded. The bodies of many of the fallen were never found, and the hills and gullies above Anzac Cove became their final resting place.

Gallipoli was the first major test for the newly federated Australian nation. People believed that in the Dardanelles, Australia’s soldiers laid the foundation for a lasting sense of national identity.

DESIGN: The coin’s reverse depicts Australian troops in wooden row boats approaching the Gallipoli shore, with its rugged terrain in the background. The design includes the inscription ‘Making of a Nation’, and The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark.

The coin’s high relief reverse and obverse are minted on concave surfaces to ensure the optimum flow of metal is achieved by the strike of the die and  edged lettering features around the coin’s rim with the words, “PRIDE • RESPECT • GRATITUDE •”

PACKAGING: Each coin will be presented in a black and red themed display case featuring the words PRIDE, RESPECT, and GRATITUDE on the outside of the case, within a themed shipper, and accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

Also designed by Wade Robinson, this silver coin sells for $99 AUD ($9 less for non-Australians).

SPECIFICATION

2015 GOLD MINI ROO

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The gorgeous Mini Roo returns in 2015. This highly affordable gold coin would make a wonderful gift or treasured keepsake.

DESIGN: The Mini Roo coin’s reverse portrays a bounding kangaroo. As well as its weight and fineness, The Perth Mint’s historic ‘P’ mintmark also appears in the design.

PACKAGING: The 2015 Mini Roo coin is housed in a protective acrylic capsule and presented in a colourful wallet-sized card.

The Perth Mints busiest designer this month, Wade Robinson penned this coin as well and it sells for $59.50 AUD ($5.40 less for non-Australians)

SPECIFICATION

AGE OF DINOSAURS 03: LEAELLYNASAURUS

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The Leaellynasaura is the third coin in this exciting new five-coin series featuring Australian dinosaurs that existed in the Cretaceous Period between 112 and 102 million years ago.

Leaellynasaura was a small plant-eating bipedal dinosaur. It is thought to have been similar in appearance to other small ornithopod dinosaurs exhibiting a long tail and growing up to two metres in length. Its large eyes were shielded with a strut of bone which may have given this gentle dinosaur a fierce look.

DESIGN: The coin’s reverse depicts the Australian dinosaur Leaellynasaura amicagraphica set against a starlit prehistoric scene. The inscription LEAELLYNASAURA, the coin’s weight and purity, and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark are also incorporated into the design.

PACKAGING: The coin is housed in a classic display case within an illustrated shipper, and is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

A superb way to protect and present all five coins in their illustrated shippers, this series display box comprises an easy-to-assemble polypropylene charcoal tray and a transparent sleeve, and is complimentary with the delivery of the third coin release when purchased as a subscription.

Designed by Gods of Olympus artist, Tom Vaughan, the coin sells for $99 AUD ($9 less for non-Australians)

SPECIFICATION