2013-2017 AUSTRALIAN STOCK HORSE by the Perth Mint

An icon in Australia, the admired Australian Stock Horse was originally a combination of several breeds including the Thoroughbred, Arab, and Timor and Welsh Mountain ponies. Although they were initially used for stock work and exploration by the early settlers, more than 120,000 Australian Stock Horses went on to serve in the First World War. Their strength, stamina and courage earned them international recognition as the finest cavalry mounts in the world and established their place in Australian history and folklore.

The Perth Mint has a history of striking limited run bullion coins for some of the bigger dealers around the world. In early 2013, the debut coin in what was purported to be a new ten-coin series launched and became a near instant hit. Produced for a large German dealer, EMK Munzen & Edelmetalle, the Australian Stock Horse is a standard silver one-ounce coin with a mintage limited to just 10,000 pieces. Early coins were struck in 0.999 silver, but from 2016 onwards the mint has carried on its process of moving over to 0.9999 fineness. As of 2017 it has been confirmed that the series will end after five coins, so our guide is complete.

Of the coins to date, the first three were designed by Perth Mint in-house artist Ing Ing Jong, the next by Jennifer McKenna and the last by Natasha Muhl, and each depicts the famous Australian Stock Horse in various poses. Struck to a brilliant uncirculated finish, there are no silver proof versions, each coin is available in two versions. The main bulk of the release run (9,000 coins) is sold by EMK themselves and come encapsulated and with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity. The final 1,000 coins are sold directly by the Perth Mint and come mounted to a coloured card, but are not given a serial number. Our understanding is that Australian law dictates that any currency issued for the country must have 10% of its mintage available in Australia itself. This would also explain why only 45,000 of the 50,000 Wedge-tailed Eagle bullion coins struck for US dealer Govmint are sold by Ainslie Bullion in Australia, for example.

These are not what could be described as a standard bullion coin and sit firmly in semi-numismatic territory. For the serious collector there is a five-ounce proof gold version available that runs a year behind (the 2013 design has a 2014 date, for example) and has a mintage of just 99 units. They can be seen next to the silver versions below – the 2018 is a mockup we did so you could see the set complete, but it’s unconfirmed at present (though very likely). A beautiful composite coin that merges elements of all five designs was produced to cap the series. Struck in five-ounces of fine silver with selective gilding, just 500 were minted. They’re a nice coin, well struck, and the limited mintage should help maintain interest. The Perth Mint version mounted on a card is the one to get, but both appear to be solid buys.

2013 ‘REARING’ STOCK HORSE

Originating from the colonial stock which arrived with the First Fleet in 1788, the Australian Stock Horse is bred to endure the harsh conditions of the country’s vast outback.

Renowned for its calm temperament, agility, strength and endurance, the Australian Stock Horse has evolved to become both a reliable working and fine performance breed. Considered extremely versatile, this variety of horse is often chosen for general riding, stock work on pastoral land, and equestrian competitions.

REVERSE: The coin’s reverse portrays an Australian Stock Horse proudly rearing up onto its hind legs in a paddock on a rural property. The design includes the inscription THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK HORSE, the 2013 year-date and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

2014 ‘GALLOPING’ STOCK HORSE

Originally a combination of several breeds including the Thoroughbred, Arab, and Timor and Welsh Mountain ponies, the Australian Stock Horse has evolved to become a distinctive breed in its own right.

Although they were initially used for stock work and exploration by the early settlers, more than 120,000 Australian Stock Horses went on to serve in the First World War. Their strength, stamina and courage earned them international recognition as the finest cavalry mounts in the world and established their place in Australian history and folklore.

REVERSE: The coin’s reverse portrays an Australian Stock Horse galloping on a rural property alongside a wooden fence. The design includes the inscription AUSTRALIAN STOCK HORSE, the 2014 year-date and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

2015 ‘LEAPING’ STOCK HORSE

Known for their cat-like agility and speed, endurance, athleticism and reliability, today’s Australian Stock Horse is an extremely versatile breed and a popular choice for a wide range of modern-day equestrian activities including polocrosse, show jumping, dressage, hacking, camp drafting and eventing.

REVERSE: The coin’s reverse portrays an Australian Stock Horse jumping a hurdle amid a rural landscape. The design includes the inscription AUSTRALIAN STOCK HORSE, the 2015 year-date and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

2016 ‘GRAZING’ STOCK HORSE

The Australian Stock Horse has been especially bred for Australian conditions. It is a hardy breed of horse noted for its endurance, agility and agreeable temperament. While its ancestry dates to the arrival of the first horses in Australia, today it is used in a wide variety of equestrian disciplines, and is also still highly valued as a working horse by stockmen throughout Australia.

REVERSE: The coin’s reverse portrays an Australian Stock Horse jumping a hurdle amid a rural landscape. The design includes the inscription AUSTRALIAN STOCK HORSE, the 2015 year-date and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

2017 ‘KICKING’ STOCK HORSE

The Australian stock horse is widely regarded as the breed for every need. Known for their cat-like agility and speed, endurance, athleticism and reliability, the stock horse is an extremely versatile variety and a popular choice for a wide range of modern-day equestrian activities including polocrosse, show jumping, dressage, hacking, camp drafting and eventing.

REVERSE: The coin’s reverse portrays an Australian stock horse in a paddock rearing up on its hind legs, with a sheath of hay in the background. The design includes the inscription AUSTRALIAN STOCK HORSE, the 2017 year-date and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

SILVER VARIANTS

The obverse is common to all versions of the Australian Stock Horse coin and as is usual for Australian coin releases, is centred around the Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. Surrounding the effigy are inscribed the denomination and the issuer, all sitting within a border area. The one-ounce silver coin is denominated at one dollar, the 5oz gold proof coin at $500.

The silver coin can be seen in its packaged variants above. The card is used by the Perth Mint for its 1,000 coin allocation and despite having plenty of blurb on the card back, these do not come with a serial number. The 9,000 EMK-sold versions are supplied in a capsule, but with a seperate certificate of authenticity that does contain a serial number. It is the former version that has seen the most investor speculation and appreciation, even though the coins are exactly the same.

GOLD 5OZ PROOF PACKAGING

As you would expect for a coin that debuts just a hair short of €8,000 Euro, the gold version has some nice quality packaging. A solid Perth Mint wooden box with a removeable centre holds the chunky coin well. The outer shipper is very understated and all the better for it.

2017 GILDED FIVE-OUNCE COMPOSITE STOCK HORSE

Original comments indicated the series ending after ten releases, but the fifth coin is now said to be the last and to mark the series end the Perth Mint and EMK have produced a five-ounce silver coin combining all five prior issues into a single composite design. One of the Perth Mint’s impressive high-relief strikes, each of the five horses is picked out with gilding and the background has been cleverly modified to create a single panorama. Inscriptions are limited to the series title at top and the composition at the bottom. A P5 mintmark is also present.

The gilded silver composite coin is a fine way to go out in style and we can see this having great appeal, especially with the mintage being only 500 coins in size.

SPECIFICATION

COIN STOCK HORSE SILVER 2017 STOCK HORSE GILDED STOCK HORSE GOLD 5OZ
DENOMINATION $1 DOLLARS (AUD) $8 DOLLARS (AUD) $500 DOLLARS (AUD)
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver 0.9999 silver 0.9999 gold
WEIGHT 31.10 grams 155.50 grams 155.50 grams
SIZE 40.60 mm 60.60 mm 50.60 mm
FINISH Uncirculated Proof Proof
MINTAGE 10,000 (9k + 1k) 500 99
BOX / COA Yes / Yes (Capsule only) Yes / Yes Yes / Yes