Perth Mint

Perth Mint

The Perth Mint has a history dating back to 1899. This mint is the largest distributor of precious metals in Australia. This government mint produces top-of-the-line gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products that dominate the market. Learn more about this popular mint right here, at BGASC.

Perth Mint History

The Perth Mint was founded back in 1899 as the third and final colonial branch of the UK’s Royal Mint in Australia, following the Melbourne Mint and Sydney Mint. The mints in Sydney and Melbourne were shut down over the years, but the Perth Mint remained open and was eventually transferred over to the government of Western Australia in 1970.

From the Perth Mint opening up until 1931, they struck over 100 million gold sovereigns and half sovereigns for currency in Australia. They then primarily struck gold bars until coinage picked back up again. Nowadays, they produce some of the most popular bullion coin programs on the market.

Obverse Design of Perth Mint Coinage

The Perth Mint uses the effigy of the reigning British monarch on the obverse field. Over the years this has included the following designs.

• 1985-1998: Raphael Maklouf’s effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.
• 1999-2018: Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
• 2019-2023: Jody Clark’s design of Queen Elizabeth II.
• 2024-Present: Dan Thorne’s design of King Charles III.

Australian Nugget/ Kangaroo Series

Originally the Australian Gold Nugget Series, this coin program began in 1987. In 1989 though, the series was rebranded to the Australian Kangaroo Series and started featuring imagery of the popular animal. Australian Gold Kangaroo Coins are issued annually in sizes ranging from 1/20 oz to 1 oz, with reverse designs changing annually. Larger sizes are released more sporadically.

Australian Silver Kangaroos debuted in 1993 as a proof strike, and then in 2015 as a BU release. The following year, the mint upped the purity of this coin program to .9999 silver making it the first Perth Mint coin program to have this level of purity. Silver coins are released annually with the same reverse image, a design that dates back to the 1939 Australian copper penny.

Australian Kookaburra Series

Australian Kookaburras debuted in 1990 and currently is the longest-running silver coin program from the Perth Mint. Like many other Perth Mint coin programs, the reverse image changes with each new release.

These coins are released every year in 4 distinct sizes – 1 oz, 2 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kilogram. Furthermore, coins issued prior to 2018 have a purity of just .999 silver whereas coins from 2018 and on have a purity of .9999 silver.

Gold coins are also popular in the series with smaller weights such as 1/10 oz coins being a popular choice.

Australian Koala Series

Another popular coin program is the Australian Koala Series. Similar to the Kookaburra Series, these coins are available in silver and gold and have different reverse designs every year.

The series was introduced in 2007 with a 1 oz silver coin, with gold coins following the next year. Silver coins are released in 2 sizes (1 oz and 1 kilogram) while gold coins are issued in several weights ranging from 5 oz to 1/25 oz.

Australian Lunar Series

Many mints create popular lunar-themed bullion. However, none are as popular as the Australian Lunar Series. The overall Lunar Series debuted in 1996 with just gold coins. Silver coins debuted in 1999. When the Year of the Rat returned in 2008, Lunar Series II was introduced, followed by Lunar Series III in 2020.

These coins showcase unique imagery of the lunar animal on the reverse. These coins have immense variety as they’re available in gold, silver, and platinum with several unique sizes available.

Perth Mint Bars

The Perth Mint also creates high-quality gold and silver bars. Their standard minted ingots contain the imagery seen in the Australian Silver Kangaroo Series. The Perth Mint also creates .9999 gold cast bars as well as lunar-themed bars.

Perth Mint Questions

Questions about the oldest mint in Australia? Contact the BGASC team today at 888-992-4272. Our team can also be reached via email or through our online chat feature.