The Perth Mint is Australia’s oldest operating mint. Sir John Forrest laid the mint’s foundation in 1896 to service the quickly growing population in Western Australia, which was exploding due to the discovery of gold deposits in surrounding areas. The mint officially opened on June 20, 1899, making it older than the official establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Gold sovereigns and half sovereigns were commonly used throughout the British Empire as currency. Instead of shipping gold back to England, The Perth Mint functioned as a branch mint for the colony, refining the gold and minting it into sovereign rights in Australia.
In 1931, the British Empire withdrew sovereigns from circulation, so the Perth Mint began producing a range of gold and silver coins and refining gold. In this era, the Perth Mint became a recognized standard for the value of gold.
Popular Perth Mint Products
The Perth Mint has a long history of producing and refining large quantities of gold, silver, and other precious metals in coins, rounds, and bars. Its coins have significant numismatic and commemorative worth, and many can be used as legal tender in Australia and other countries.
The most internationally renowned coins from The Perth Mint are the silver and gold Kangaroos. These high-quality coins have been released with a new design every year since the series began in 1987 and are sought after by many collectors worldwide. Many of the coins are eligible for IRAs in the United States, which makes them especially popular. In 2011, the mint created a one-tonne Kangaroo coin that Guinness World Records deemed the world’s largest coin in 2012. Today, it is on display at the Perth Mint’s Gold Exhibition and holds its title as the world’s largest and most valuable coin. The design for these famous coins came from the early Australian Nugget, one of the Perth Mint’s first circulated coins.
The Kookaburra Series was launched in 1990. These attractive coins are released with a new design each year and are highly popular among collectors worldwide. Many collectors of the Kookaburras focus on silver rather than gold coins due to their high value and affordability.
The Lunar Series, known as the original Lunar bullion series, has been steadily growing in popularity with each new annual release. The series began in 1996 and remains one of the market’s more widely collected Lunar coin sets. Originally only meant to be a 12-year program to mint one coin for each Chinese Zodiac animal, the series has been so successful that it’s on its 3rd series.
The Koala Series launched in 2007. These coins come in multiple sizes, are legal tender, and have a new reverse design every year.
More recently, the gold and silver Swan Series, launched in 2017, has become highly sought after for its impressive production and quality details.
Perth Mint Bullion
Each year, The Perth Mint produces millions of gold, silver, and platinum coins across various unique series, some of which have been produced for over 30 years. The exceptional production processes and high minting standards at The Perth Mint mean that each item can be truly treasured. Each design is specially crafted from initial ideation to final production to ensure every detail meets the quality people worldwide have come to expect from The Perth Mint.
Additional Mint Services
Today, the Perth Mint provides refining, assaying, and other services to the precious metals industry while also serving as a depository. This enables investors to own precious metals without having to deal with the security, insurance, and other issues associated with physical possession. The mint takes care of both the storage and safekeeping of its customers’ precious metals products.
The Perth Mint is also accredited as a refiner, weight master, and assayer by various internationally respected exchanges, including the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which is perhaps the most valuable accreditation. With the LBMA, investors and market participants can be assured of the accuracy of the stated weight and purity as well as the integrity of Perth Mint’s precious metal products.
