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1 oz Silver Kangaroo
Bullion from down under.
The Perth Mint on Australia’s Perth Coast has been producing Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium bullion since 1899 after the discovery of rich gold deposits in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. The Perth Mint was actually Britain’s Royal Mints third branch after the Melbourne Mint and Sydney Mint.
The Perth Mint is an accredited mint through the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and holds the coveted ‘good delivery’ title and provides 400 oz Gold bars and 1000 oz Silver bars for global trade and commerce. They also hold accreditations in other global markets such as the New York Commodity Exchange (COMEX or CME), Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM).
The Perth Mint is also one of the few mints that boast the ability to continually refine Gold bullion to an amazing .9999 or 99.99% (4, 9) purity. This is no easy nor cheap task and is why the Perth Mint remains a trusted investment option when it comes to buying or selling precious metals.
The Perth Mints bullion and bullion coin program contains a diverse selection of Gold bullion coins and bars to choose from, here is a shortlist of the most popular items available in the commodity trade;
Popular Perth Mint Gold Coins
- Australian 2 oz Gold Lunar Mouse (A long-running lunar series from Perth)
- Australian 1 oz Gold Kangaroo (Sometimes referred to as the 1 oz Gold Nugget)
- Australian 1 oz Gold Swan
- Australian 1 oz Gold Double Dragon
- Australian 1 oz Gold Kookaburra
- Australian 2 oz Gold Lunar Mouse (A long-running lunar series from Perth)
- Most of these coins come in 1/10th, 1/4th, ½ troy ounce sizes as well.
Popular Perth Mint Gold Bars
- 400 oz Gold Bar or 12.5 Kilo Gold Bar (LBMA)
- Casted 50 oz Gold Bar
- Casted 1 kilo or 32 oz Gold Bar
- Both Minted and Cast 10 oz Gold Bars
- Casted 5 oz Gold Bars
- 1 oz Gold Bar in Assayer Package
- 1 oz Gold cast buttons
- Gold bars also come in a huge variety of fractional Gold sizes such as 1, 5, 10, and 20-gram sizes.
Example of the Gold variant of the Kangaroo. Note the use of the word "nugget" as these are commonly referred to as Gold Nuggets. Photo credit IC staff in Texas, unknown date.
There Silver program is as, if not more, diverse in terms of selection, and the 1 oz Kangaroo and 1 oz Kookaburra coins remain the most popular of their Silver lineups. One of the unique things regarding these Silver coins is the designs on the coins themselves. Not only are both animals completely native and indigenous to the Australian continent but the design of the animals changes each year. Unlike many other popular coins that serve as flagship coins such as the American Silver Eagle (U.S. Mint) and Canadian Maple Leaf (Royal Canadian Mint) who’s design either does not change or only changes slightly.
The 1 oz Silver Kangaroo is comprised of .9999 fine Silver and comes in half size bullion ‘monster boxes’ of 250 coins per box. Inside the box are 10 mint-sealed tubes, safely, carrying 25 of the coins in each. On the obverse of the coin has that particular year rendition of 1 or more Red Kangaroos (annotating the specific breed of Kangaroo, not the color). The obverse also says “AUSTRALIAN KANGAROO” as well as mintage date, purity, and metal type. On the reverse side of the coin displays the likeliness of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II who by the way has been on more coins than any other person in history. The words “AUSTRALIAN,” “ELIZABETH II,” as well as the face value “1 DOLLAR” is also inscribed on the coin.
Although produced by the Perth Mint (AKA Gold Corporation) which is technically a privately owned business (some may argue state-owned), the Royal Australian Mint, who produces Australia’s currency, has contracted the Perth Mint to create the bullion, allowing them to place monetary value unto the coin and is fully backed by the Australian Government.
Other notable features of the coin are the diameter, which is 40.60mm which is quite noticeable when you hold the bullion coin in your hand. The 1 oz Silver Kangaroos have been produced in large quantities since 1993 and although generally, come in Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) condition, proof versions of the coin are also produced. Since 1993, there have been 859,687 1 oz Silver Kangaroo coins minted by the Perth Mint.
Other than the designs of the Kangaroos changing year to year, the coins come in proof and frosted designs. The borders and reeds may also be slightly altered as the Perth Mint truly loves craftsmanship and it shows in every single product that they send out.
That is about all there is to know about the Kangaroo Wildlife Series Perth Mint coins and remember you can find these from time to time in our Silver Crate if that is something that would interest you. As always, this is never intended to be investment advice and is intended for entertainment purposes only. If you find any errors, grammatical or other, please do not hesitate to reach out to us so we can correct the issue right away.