The Silver Kookaburra is a
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
bullion coin
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes fro ...
originating from
Australia, and produced at the
Perth Mint
The Perth Mint is Australia's official bullion mint and wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Established on 20 June 1899, two years before Australia's Federation in 1901, the Perth Mint was the last of three Australian col ...
starting in 1990. The
coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
s were .999
fine silver
The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hard ...
until the 2018 edition, which increased in purity to .9999 silver. While the obverse of the coin always depicts Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, the reverse side changes every year, always featuring a
kookaburra
Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...
, a bird native to Australia. Due to the yearly design change and limited production of the one-ounce coins, they have higher collectible value than some other bullion coins. The Perth Mint generally ships the coins in individual plastic capsules. One-ounce coins ship in shrink wrap rolls of 20, with 5 rolls in each box of 100. They are minted in four sizes; 1000g, 10, 2 and 1
troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
ounces.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the kookaburra coin, the 2015 coin features the same image of the kookaburra as the original 1990 coin. To differentiate the 1990 and 2015 coins the date on the reverse reads 1990-2015 and 2015 has been added to the obverse. The 2015 coin had a release date of September 1, 2014.
[
]
Specifications
One Ounce History
The maximum mintage of the one
troy ounce
Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and th ...
coin is capped, while the others have unlimited mintage based on demand. Perth Mint originally intended to expand the 2013 mintage to one million coins, however, they later reduced this number to 500,000 and declared that future years would continue to be limited to this amount.
In addition to the annual design change, there is also a design change between the bullion and proof versions of the coin each year. No proof coins were minted between 2006-2011; however, there was a 1-ounce silver proof Kookaburra colored coin struck in 2012 for the Discover Australia coin series. Since 2012, the proof coin has been struck in high relief only.
Special editions such as
privy mark
A privy mark was originally a small mark or differentiation in the design of a coin for the purpose of identifying the mint, moneyer, some other aspect of the coin's origin, or to prevent counterfeiting. One of the first instances of a privy mark ...
ed, colored, and
gilded are often available.
See also
*
Australian Silver Kangaroo (bullion)
*
Australian Silver Koala
*
Bullion
*
Bullion coin
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes fro ...
*
Inflation hedge An inflation hedge is an investment intended to protect the investor against (hedge) a decrease in the purchasing power of money (inflation). There is no investment known to be a successful hedge in all inflationary environments, just as there is n ...
*
Silver as an investment
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical co ...
References
; General
* ''2020 Standard Catalog of World Coins - 1901–2000'', 47th Edition, publication date 2019, Krause Publications,
* ''2020 Standard Catalog of World Coins - 2001–Date'', 14th Edition, publication date 2019, Krause Publications,
;Specific
{{reflist
Bullion coins of Australia
Silver bullion coins