The Australian Gold Nugget is a
gold bullion coin minted by 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 coloni ...
. The coins have been minted in denominations of
oz, oz, oz, oz, 1 oz, 2 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kg of 24
carat gold. They have
legal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...
status in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and are one of few legal tender bullion gold coins to change their design every year, another being the
Chinese Gold Panda
The Chinese Gold Panda () is a series of gold bullion coins issued by the People's Republic of China. The Official Mint of the People's Republic of China introduced the panda gold bullion coins in 1982. The panda design changes every year (with ...
. This and their limited annual mintage may, unlike for many other bullion coins, raise their
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also incl ...
value over the value of gold used.
History
The Gold Nugget series was introduced in 1986 by
Gold Corporation, a company wholly owned by the
Government of Western Australia
The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...
, more commonly known by its trading name The Perth Mint. This issue of coins had two unique features: a "two-tone" frosted design effect, and individual hard plastic encapsulation of each coin. These features were unusual for a standard bullion coin and gave the Nugget a unique market niche.
From 1986 to 1989, the reverse of these coins pictured various Australian gold nuggets. With the 1989 proof edition, the design was changed to feature different kangaroos, a more world-recognised symbol of Australia. The coins are today sometimes referred to as "gold kangaroos".
In 1991, 2 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kilogram sizes were introduced. These were created with the intention of using
economies of scale
In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
to keep premiums low, and are some of the largest gold coins ever minted. In 1992, the face values on these large coins were lowered to keep them proportional to the 1 oz coin. The reverse of these coins does not change annually like the lower denominations; the same "red kangaroo" design is used every year.
In October 2011, the Perth Mint created a one tonne gold coin, breaking the record for the biggest and most valuable gold coin, previously held by the
Royal Canadian Mint
}) is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the Mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada.
The Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufacture ...
, the
Big Maple Leaf. The coin is approximately in diameter and thick. It features a red kangaroo on the front of the coin and a portrait of
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 ...
on the reverse. The face value of the coin is 1 million, but at the time of minting it was valued at over 53 million.
The Australian Gold Nugget coins should not be mistaken for the Australian Lunar Gold Bullion coins. Both coins are minted by Perth Mint and have .9999 purity, but Lunar coins use images of different animals from the Chinese calendar instead of the kangaroo.
Specifications
See also
*
Big Maple Leaf
*
Spanish gold Lynx
References
{{Reflist
External links
Australian Gold Nugget Coin PicturesAustralian coins of the Gold Nugget series (gallery and review)
Bullion coins of Australia
Gold bullion coins