The Perth Mint on June 7 released a new 2011 Australian Koala 5 Oz Silver Proof Coin for collectors, its largest product in the popular koala coin series and the first issue in this size. The silver coin is currently listed for a price of $431.82 (AUS), or $461.18 (US).
Minted in five ounces of 99.9% pure silver and struck to proof quality, the unique silver coin is sure to draw attention. Its mintage has been limited to just 5,000 strikes, with only 300 available in Australia. There is an order limit of one per customer.
Each year, the Mint changes the reverse design of the koala coins. The reverse side of this large collectible features The Perth Mint’s official 2011 koala design created by Elise Martinson. It depicts an adult koala and its young resting in the fork of a eucalyptus tree. Inscriptions include AUSTRALIAN KOALA, 2011 5 OZ 999 SILVER and the Perth Mint’s historic "P" mintmark.
On the obverse side is the familiar effigy of Queen Elizabeth II of England by Ian Rank-Broadley. Inscriptions include ELIZABETH II, AUSTRALIA and 8 DOLLARS. The 5 ounce proof coin is legal tender per the Australian Currency Act of 1965.
The new 5 ouncer makes the fifth different size for the 2011 Australian Koala Silver Coin series. The first four offerings were bullion quality and were released on October 4. From smallest to largest, the other koala coins come in half-ounce, one-ounce, ten-ounce and one kilo sizes.
The popular series started back in 2007 and quickly became one of world’s favorite collectibles. Options include gold or silver versions. In 2008, the Perth Mint added the Gilded Edition, which prominently features the koala(s) in the design perfectly gilded in 24-karat gold on a pure silver coin.
The Koala bear is only indigenous to Australia and it lives in the southern and eastern coastal regions of the country. Koalas feed at night and survive almost solely on the leaves of the Eucalyptus trees, which are toxic to most other living things.
The 2011 Australian Koala 5 Oz Silver Coin is available directly from The Perth Mint website at:
The Perth Mint of Australia packages each silver coin in a presentation case with an illustrated, customized shipper of two koalas as well as a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.
See other Perth Mint coin highlights from this site’s Australian Coin Guide.
About the Perth Mint
The Perth Mint is wholly-owned by the State Government of Western Australia. It is the sole issuer of the Australian Federal Government’s Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Program. The Perth Mint is one of the world’s premier gold refineries and produces gold blank planchets for many other mint’s around the world in addition to its responsibility of striking the gold and silver bullion coins of Australia.
