For the third year running, the Royal Australian Mint has released a coin to commemorate the world famous Sydney new year celebrations that take place every year, obviously, on the evening of the 31st December. Known as one of the most spectacular fireworks dislays in the calendar, they’re televised around the world and are seen as the start of a sequence of displays that take place around the world as the globe turns and midnight chimes in some of our biggest cities.

The series launched back in 2014 and debuted as the first in a set of ten coins, one per annum, each with a specific theme. The 2014 coin had ‘Shine’ for a theme and incorporated a hologram in the centre. For 2015 the theme was ‘Inspire’, the coin halved in weight to ½oz, the packaging moved from a coin box to a card, and the mintage dropped from 15,000 to 5,000. For 2016 these changes remain and we’d be surprised if they changed again for the rest of the series.

This years coin is themed around colour, and we have to say it’s a fine effort. It looks from the images at least, to be a finely struck and beautifully designed coin, easily the best of the three released to date. The coloured reflection is expertly realised, and the image is a fine stylised representation of the opera house, harbour bridge, and the fireworks. All in all a great piece of work. If you like the subject matter, we can’t see you being disappointed with this one. To be released on 2nd November for $60 AUD, the coin is available to pre-order now from the RAM website.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

More than 1.6 million people gather around Sydney Harbour every year to see the globally renowned Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks display. As the third coin in the Sydney New Year’s Eve Coin Series, the Royal Australian Mint has again worked with the City of Sydney to depict the City of Colour, during that iconic memorable midnight moment on this 2016 $1 Coloured Fine Silver Frosted Uncirculated Coin.

Sydney is bursting with colour that attracts people throughout the world to visit and explore its diverse environment. With iconic beaches, a glorious harbour, unique flora and fauna, beautiful landscapes with colour to be seen and music to be heard throughout, a unique culture of diversity and creativity, Sydney’s colourful qualities are beautifully reflected in its world-renowned New Year’s Eve celebrations.