The Perth Mint has released two Great Southern Land 2022 coins. The 2oz gold proof coin features the great southern Australian continent in stunning Australian opal. The 1oz silver proof coin features the great southern Australian continent in stunning Australian blue lepidolite.
Since antiquity, European philosophers speculated that a large continent existed in the Southern Hemisphere to ‘balance’ those of the north. Terra Australis was the Latin term they coined to describe the posited great south land which different navigators explored in parts until Royal Navy cartographer Matthew Flinders completed the first circumnavigation of the island-continent now known as Australia in 1803.
Europeans were astonished by the exotic wildlife they encountered. Familiar to First Nations people for at least 60,000 years, they included the isolated continent’s famous pouched marsupials and an extraordinary diversity of fascinating birds and insects and opal, which in its most precious form flashes with a brilliant ‘play of colour’.
Today, Australia supports about 850 bird species, of which roughly 45% are found nowhere else on Earth, while it is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of insects – with many still waiting to be formally identified.
Whereas, Opal is Australia’s national gemstone. In ancient Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, it was created when a rainbow touched the earth. It is also known to Indigenous people as the ‘fire of the desert’. Today, Australia produces the overwhelming majority of the world’s precious opal, which when cut and polished can be used to create some of the world’s most alluring jewellery pieces
Both coins were struck by The Perth Mint and issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.
The 2oz gold proof coin’s reverse encircles an opal insert in the shape of the Australian continent and celebrates Australia’s iconic animals. The coin depicts representations of a Tasmanian devil, koala, emu, kangaroo, wombat, bilby, monitor lizard, echidna, snake, and frilled-neck lizard. Included in the design is the coin’s weight, purity and year-date.
The obverse bears the Jody Clark effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the coin’s monetary denomination.
The 1oz silver proof coin’s reverse features a blue lepidolite insert in the shape of the Australian continent. It is encircled with representations of an Australian wedge-tailed eagle; a kookaburra; a splendid fairy wren; a blue banded bee; a birdwing butterfly; a sugar glider; a sulphur crested cockatoo; and a willie wagtail. The background is composed of native flora motifs. Included on the reverse is the coin’s weight, purity and year-date together with The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.
The obverse bears the Jody Clark effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the coin’s monetary denomination.
PRICING
Product | Pricing | GST Component |
Great Southern Land |
$7,999.00 |
$727.18 |
Notes on Pricing:
- Indicative Total Price (incl. metal) is based on the metal price of gold AUD2,654.42/oz to be used as a guide only.
- The pricing is based on a margin over the prevailing spot price of the metal at the time of order.
- Volume discounts apply to individual orders only. To receive the volume break, you must order the relevant number of units for delivery in one shipment.
- The Perth Mint reserves the right to amend the above prices in the event of substantial movement in the metal price.
Product | Pricing | GST Component |
Great Southern Land |
$135.00 |
$12.27 |
Notes on Pricing:
- Indicative Total Price (incl. metal) is based on the metal price of silver AUD30.60/oz to be used as a guide only.
- The pricing is based on a margin over the prevailing spot price of the metal at the time of order.
- Volume discounts apply to individual orders only. To receive the volume break, you must order the relevant number of units for delivery in one shipment.
- The Perth Mint reserves the right to amend the above prices in the event of substantial movement in the metal price.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
2oz Gold | |
Gold Content (Troy oz) |
2 |
Monetary Denomination (AUD) |
200 |
Fineness (% purity) |
99.99 |
Minimum Gross Weight (g) |
62.213 |
Maximum Diameter (mm) |
36.60 |
Maximum Thickness (mm) |
6.00 |
Maximum Mintage |
200 |
Designer |
Aleysha Howarth |
1 oz Silver | |
Silver Content (Troy oz) |
1 |
Monetary Denomination (AUD) |
1.00 |
Fineness (% purity) |
99.99 |
Minimum Gross Weight (g) |
31.107 |
Maximum Diameter (mm) |
36.60 |
Maximum Thickness (mm) |
3.95 |
Maximum Mintage |
5,000 |
Designer |
Aleysha Howarth |