Undoubtedly one of the world’s premier bullion producers, the Perth Mint has garnered itself a fine reputation for its range of annually changing designs going back several decades. In recent years, we’ve seen an explosion of choice in the silver bullion coin market, and the Perth Mint is responsible for much of that, starting when it added series like the Australian Swan, and the Wedge-Tailed Eagle, for example. There are so many, we actually produced a fairly comprehensive Bullion Summary to them all, which is well worth a look.

We’ve been a little slack on our bullion coverage of late, which we’re going to rectify, because we know they’re super popular, and none more so than this Western Australian mints range. We have four recent issues here, but even more have been added to that summary guide, including the Wedge-tailed Eagle. There’s a new sub-heading for pop-culture coins, given the number in the line-up now.

The first of the four we have here is the fifth annual release in the mints ‘Quokka’ series. One of their signature wildlife ranges, it follows a family of these small marsupials (related to kangaroos), with the latest design by Natasha Muhl, depicting three of them for the first time as a family unit. The habitat is nicely realised, with lots of flora, and a nice lighthouse scene in the background.

With 2024 being the 125th anniversary of the Perth Mint, this is one of those coins that carries a P125 privy mark in celebration. The coin has that ‘reverse-proof’ look, with the raised areas being reflective, rather than the background field, which is common for this mint. As an Australian issue, it carries the new Dan Thorne effigy of King Charles III. A nice addition, it’s available in one-ounce silver only.

One of the most popular animated shows of all time, SpongeBob Squarepants was launched in 1999 to huge acclaim. Telling the story of SpongeBob and friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom, it was created by Stephen Hillenburg, who was actually a marine science educator. Not that the show is educational, with laughs being the primary motivation. With 15 seasons, 3 films, 4 films planned, and two spin-off series, and some $13 billion in merchandising, to say it’s a success would be an understatement. Sadly, Hillenburg died in late-2018 of complications from ALS at the age of just 57. His legacy lives on, as popular as ever.

The new bullion coin celebrates 25 years since the show debuted, and features the now iconic title character, with marine life in the background. The anniversary logo sits at the top. It’s an apt overview at a series that’s up there with the greats in the popular consciousness. This one is available in two ways. The vast bulk (24k of 25k) is simply encapsulated, but 1,000 of them come mounted on a themed presentation card (below), made popular some years ago with the scramble to get the Stock Horse bullion coin presented similarly. Issued for Tuvalu, the effigy on the obverse is the Jody Clark version.

Needing little introduction, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book started out in 1984 as a parody of superhero comics, following the adventures of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo – four anthropomorphic turtles – and their rat sensei, Splinter. From comics, they made the transition three years later to action figures and an animated series. The success was phenomenal. In 1989, we got the first video game, and in 1990, the first film. Seven films, multiple TV series, games and comics (including manga) later, and the characters are as popular as ever.

Now 40 years old, the Perth Mint has issued a bullion coin to mark the occasion. Depicting the four title characters bursting through a brick wall, it’s classic TMNT. The anniversary logo takes pride of place in the foreground. A good summation of the show’s appeal. Here, there are two variants. The cleanly struck bullion coin has a mintage of 25,000 pieces, and like SpongeBob, a thousand of those will come on a presentation card that’s fully themed. In addition, there’s a colourised variant with a mintage of 2,500 units, and all of these are card-mounted. The design of the card remains similar, although using more colour.

Lastly, although certainly not leastly, is the eighth annual issue in the mint’s pretty Australian Swan series. Primarily handled by American dealer, APMEX, this was one of the new ranges back in the mid-2010s that kicked off the explosion in bullion coin choices, and since then, it’s remained easy to see why. Depicting this graceful bird in a variety of ways over the last eight years, it, and the Wedge-tailed Eagle, have remained staples of the Perth Mints limited-mintage bullion selection.

This eighth coin is another pretty one, depicting a swan coming to rest on the surface of a lake. There’s a sun/moon in the sky, and the little drops could be splashes of water, but we like to think they’re stars, and the big sphere is the moon. The P125 privy mark is present here. We’ve always liked this series, despite the overly wide border, and this looks to be a great addition. As before, there are one-ounce silver, and one-ounce gold bullion coins, and the usual range of proof, high-relief and other variants.