Some of the most popular gold bullion
coins are Australian kangaroo coins. Australian kangaroo gold
coinsare pure gold, in other words 99.99% fine gold bullion. They
are officially legal tender in Australia, though notat their face
value but rather at the current market value for their weight in
gold. The main denominations available are1/20 troy oz, 1/10 troy
oz, 1/4 troy oz, 1/2 troy oz, and 1 troy oz, though larger
investment denominations are also available. Unlike other non-proof
gold bullion coin series, every kangaroo leaves the mint in a
durable plastic hard case.
First minted in 1986 and launched in
1987, the coin series' name is actually the Australian nugget. From
1986 to 1988 the coins displayed images of gold nuggets, but
outside of Australia these images were not easily identifiable as
"nuggets". The round object in the picture could have been a simple
stone or lump of coal, or a piece of excrement for all we knew.
Realizing this, Australia's Gold Corporation changed the image to
that of a kangaroo from 1989 onwards, giving the Australian gold
nuggets their common nickname "gold kangaroo" coins.
The golden kangaroo coin features kangaroo pictures that change
every year. In this regardthey are similar to Chinese Panda gold
coins which feature yearly rotating designs. On the reverse side is
a protrait of Queen Elizabeth. The kangaroo is unique in its design
because itutilizes a 2 tone frosted effect, with a lighter "white
gold" as the base color, with darker gold color frosted over
top.
One innovation of the Australian gold
kangaroo series is its availability of larger sized denominations,
specifically 2-ounce coins, 10-ounce coins, and 32.15-ounce coins.
32.15 ounces is 1 kilogram! These are produced in order to limit
the premium charges for buyersof large amounts of gold. All gold
bullion coins are sold at a premium over the cost of their weight
in gold, to cover production costs, and the smaller the
denomination the proportionally larger the premium.
The Australian kangaroo gold coin is not the only coin series
produced by the Gold Corporation's Perth Mint, but because of the
series' limited minting it is considered to have slightly more
numismatic value above its gold content than other gold bullion
coins do. Plus the kangaroo is such aubiquitous symbol of Australia
that collectors around the globe feel that they truly own a piece
of Australia when they buy a gold kangaroo.
Kangaroos are also produced in silver and platinum versions.
Australian Kangaroo Coins
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8:43 AM
Labels: gold coins
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