The Perth Mint is situated in the Australian city of Perth. It produces Australian circulation coins in collaboration with the Royal Australian Mint. The mint also produces gold and silver bullion coins in addition to currency coins. Perth Mint is well known among investors and coin collectors for its high-quality coin programs and releases.
Brief History
The mint was set up on June 20, 1899, in Perth as the third branch of the Royal Mint, with Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint being the other two branches, which are now defunct. It was established to mint sovereigns and half-sovereigns for the British empire and to refine gold from the gold rushes.
It continues to refine gold and manufacture coin-related items for coin collectors and investors and provide other minting and refining related services to the gold industry. The Government of Western Australia took the control of the Perth Mint in July 1970 and turned it into a statutory state institution with the task of minting currency coins. The mint still operates from its original building and is one of the oldest mints in the world.
Famous Perth Mint Series
Here are some of the popular Perth Mint series:
1- Australian Gold Nugget
The Perth Mint launched the Australian Gold Nugget coin program in 1987 after it got the authority to mint and sell bullion gold and silver currency coins. The coins are legal tender in Australia, and the mint changes the design of these coins every year. Because these coins are issued in limited quantities, their numismatic value is higher than the intrinsic value of the coin.
2- Australian Silver Kookaburra
The Perth Mint issued the first Silver Kookaburra in 1990. These coins have 0.999 pure silver and are issued in different weights, such as 1 oz, 2oz, 10oz, and 1KG. The mint also changes the design of these coins every year, with the same image of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse side and a different Kookaburra image each year on the other side.
3- Platinum Koala
The Perth Mint issued Platinum Koala coin between 1988 and 2000 and is a legal tender in Australia. Due to the success of the gold bullion coins issued previously, the Australian government authorized the minting of platinum and silver bullion coins in 1987. The obverse side of the coins always had the image of Queen Elizabeth II, whereas the reverse side had the image of a Koala. These coins were issued until 2000, after which they were discontinued because of the lack of their demand.
