Australian Silver Kookaburra
The Silver Kookaburra is a silver bullion coin originating from Australia, and produced at the Perth Mint starting in 1990. The coins are .999 fine silver. While the obverse of the coin always depicts Queen Elizabeth II, the reverse side changes every year, always featuring a kookaburra, 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. Special editions such as proof, high relief, privy marked, colored, and gilded are often available. They are minted in the following four sizes:
Face Value | Silver Weight | Coin Weight | Diameter | Thickness |
---|---|---|---|---|
A$30 | 1 kilogram | 1002.502g | 101.00mm | 14.60mm |
A$10 | 10 Troy ounces | 312.347g | 75.50mm | 8.70mm |
A$2 | 2 Troy ounces | 62.770g | 53.30mm | 4.50mm |
A$1 | 1 Troy ounce | 31.135g | 40.60mm | 4.00mm |
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.[1]
One Ounce Silver Kookaburra Minting History
The maximum mintage of the one ounce coin is capped while the others have unlimited mintage based on demand. The 2013 mintage was to be expanded to one million, but this was later backed down to 500,000, saying future years would continue to be limited to 500,000.[2] In addition to the yearly 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.
Bullion Coins | Bullion | Proof Coins | Proof | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Maximum Mintage[3] | Declared Mintage[3] | Maximum Mintage[4] | Declared Mintage[4] |
1990 | 300,000 | 300,000 | 35,000 | 21,671 |
1991 | 300,000 | 300,000 | 35,000 | 6,673 |
1992 | 300,000 | 219,694 | 35,000 | 6,766 |
1993 | 300,000 | 190,581 | 35,000 | 5,121 |
1994 | 300,000 | 174,561 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
1995 | 300,000 | 154,247 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
1996 | 300,000 | 170,105 | 3,500 | 3,500 |
1997 | 300,000 | 159,497 | 3,500 | 2,466 |
1998 | 300,000 | 103,119 | 2.500 | 2,114 |
1999 | 300,000 | 109,364 | 2,500 | 1,646 |
2000 | 300,000 | 104,169 | 3,000 | 2,583 |
2001 | 300,000 | 169,265 | 5,000 | 3,241 |
2002 | 300,000 | 91,604 | 5,000 | 1,733 |
2003 | 300,000 | 109,439 | 5,000 | 1,571 |
2004 | 300,000 | 84,455 | 5,000 | 1,446 |
2005 | 300,000 | 95,145 | 5,000 | 2,346 |
2006 | 300,000 | 87,044 | - | - |
2007 | 300,000 | 213,436 | - | - |
2008 | 300,000 | 300,000 | - | - |
2009 | 300,000 | 300,000 | - | - |
2010 | 300,000 | 300,000 | - | - |
2011 | 500,000 | 500,000 | - | - |
2012 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 High Relief |
2013 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 10,000 (9,000 limit) | 5,378 High Relief |
2014 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 10,000 (9,000 limit) | 2,550 High Relief |
References
- ↑ "Unveiled - The 2015 Australian Bullion Coin Program". Perth Mint Bullion Blog. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ↑ Currie, Ron (30 April 2013). "1oz Australian Kookaburra Mintage Declared At 500,000". Perth Mint Bullion Blog. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
...the mintage of this year’s release has been declared at 500,000. For consistency going forward, ... the maximum mintage of 500,000 will be applied to all future 1oz Kookaburra releases.
- 1 2 3 "Bullion Mintages - The Perth Mint". perthmint.com.au. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- 1 2 Design, Vivid. "Numismatic Mintages | The Perth Mint". www.perthmint.com.au. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (2004). 2005 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901–Present (32nd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873497945.