Perth Mint

Producer of the Australian Gold and Silver Kangaroo coins

The Perth Mint is named after its location, the city of Perth in Western Australia. It is operated by the Gold Corporation, a company that is owned by the government of Western Australia. The Perth Mint is active in the refining of gold and silver, the casting of precious metal bars, the mintage of Australian coins (proof coins as well as investment bullion coins and numismatic/commemorative/collectible coins), the production of coin blanks for other mints and financial institutions, the safe storage of precious metals for investors, the production of gold and silver jewelry and the operation and preservation of the historical Perth Mint building. The Perth Mint also offers custom minting services for coins and medals. The Australian Kangaroo and Australian Lunar coins out of gold and silver are the mint's most popular bullion products. Unlike most other government mints that sell their products through authorized resellers, the Perth Mint also sells its products directly to the public through its Perth Mint Online Shop .

Minting Facilities

The historic Perth Mint is located at 310 Hay Street in East Perth. Next door to the historic building stands the modern 8.400 square meter manufacturing facility. The Perth Mint Refinery is located near the Perth Airport. P is the mint mark used by the Perth Mint.

The Perth Mint is offering guided tours of its grand heritage building. The tours take place hourly and include admission to the Gold Exhibition. During the tour you will visit the mint's secured vaults and 1899 melting house where you will see a live gold pour. The multitude of exhibits that make up the Gold Exhibition include a dazzling display of natural gold nuggets and the largest coin ever made, an Australian Kangaroo coin weighing one tonne of pure gold!

History

The Perth Mint opened on the 20th of June 1899 as a branch of the Royal Mint of London. It remained under the jurisdiction of Great Britain until the 1st of July 1970, long after Australia was founded as a nation in 1901. The government of Western Australia then took over direct control of operations until 1987, when Western Australia's state parliament decreed the founding of the Gold Corporation. The Gold Corporation is owned by the government of Western Australia and is commissioned with the task of creating Australia’s official bullion coins. It operates the Perth Mint and its two subsidiaries, the Western Australian Mint and GoldCorp Australia. The Perth Mint opened its new refinery near the Perth Airport in 1990. Its modern minting facility was opened in 2003, right next to its historical center of operations in a colonial limestone building.

As far as historical coins are concerned, the Perth Mint produced British Gold Sovereigns from 1899 until 1931 and was the largest producer of Gold Sovereigns in the entire British Empire. A staggering amount of 106 million Gold Sovereigns and nearly 735,000 Half-Sovereigns were struck as currency during this period.

The Australian Nugget gold coin series was the first bullion coin issuance under the control of the Gold Corporation. It was a huge success, selling over 155,000 ounces for a total of $103 million on its first day of trading alone. Australian Nugget gold coins are nowadays more commonly known as Australian Gold Kangaroo coins. Even though the design has changed, they remain a favorite of investors today and Australian Gold Lunar coins enjoy considerable popularity as well. The Perth Mint is one of the few government mints worldwide that also produce precious metal bullion bars.

The Perth Mint is accredited by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), the New York Commodities Exchange (COMEX) and the Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC).

Australian Gold Kangaroos

The 99.99% pure Australian Gold Kangaroo coins are also known under their original name as Australian Gold Nugget coins. After displaying various images of gold nuggets starting with their inaugural issue (as proof coins) in 1986, the coins quickly switched to kangaroo images in 1990 (1989 for proof coins). A new kangaroo image appears on the reverse side of the coins every year since then. The coins are offered in a wide variety of denominations by the Perth Mint, from a tiny 1/2 gram all the way up to the world-record 1 tonne coin. Both brilliant uncirculated (BU) and proof coins are issued. Annual mintage numbers of the Australian Gold Kangaroos are quite low compared to other gold bullion coins.

The Australian Gold Kangaroo page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.

Australian Gold Lunar coins

The Perth Mint's 1st Australian Gold Lunar series already started in 1996. Due to the success of the 1st series, a 2nd series followed from 2008 to 2019 and the current 3rd series started in 2020. The reverse side of the 99.99% pure Australian Gold Lunar coins changes every year and always displays the current year's Chinese zodiac animal. The coins are also known as the Perth Mint Lunar gold coins. Both brilliant uncirculated and proof versions of the coins are offered and there is also a wide choice of different sizes between 1/20 oz and 10 kg. High relief and ultra high relief proof coins as well as colorized versions of the coins are produced as well. Annual mintage numbers of the coins are generally quite low compared with other popular gold bullion coins.

The Australian Gold Lunar coin page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.

Australian Silver Kangaroos

The Perth Mint started minting the bullion version of the Australian Silver Kangaroo coins in 2015. The limited number of coins that were minted that year were 99.9% pure. Since 2016, the Australian Silver Kangaroos are 99.99% pure. The brilliant uncirculated version of the coins is only minted in the 1 oz size. Proof coins of 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz exist as part of a set but the 1/4 oz proof coins are also available individually. Whereas the Australian Gold Kangaroo coins depict a different kangaroo image on their reverse side every year, the same "Red Kangaroo" design is depicted on every annual bullion edition of the silver coins.

The Australian Silver Kangaroo page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.

Australian Silver Lunar coins

The Perth Mint started with the 1st series of the Australian Silver Lunar coins in 1999. The 2nd series followed in 2008 (while the 1st series was still ongoing) and ended in 2019. The current 3rd series then started the following year. The silver coins are 99.99% pure since 2017 (99.9% pure previously). The design of the reverse side of the Perth Mint Lunar silver coins changes every year and always depicts the Chinese zodiac animal for that year of issuance. The displayed zodiac animal design is different from that on the gold version of the coins. Many different special editions are offered in addition to the brilliant uncirculated and proof versions and there is also a wide choice of different sizes between 1/2 oz and 10 kg.

The Australian Silver Lunar coin page gives more information about the coins and allows you to compare current prices.

The Perth Mint issued the first-ever Australian Platinum Lunar coins in 2020, the year when the 3rd Australian Lunar series started. The coins are minted out of 99.95% fine platinum. Only 1 oz coins are minted for now and both brilliant uncirculated as well as proof coins are produced and issued. Annual mintage numbers of both brilliant uncirculated as well as proof coins are subject to strict mintage limits. The design of the reverse side of the coins changes every year and always depicts the Chinese zodiac animal for that year of issuance. The displayed zodiac animal design is identical to the one that appears on the gold version of the coins. The coins of the Perth Mint Platinum Lunar series have a face value of 100 AUD and measure 32.6 mm in diameter and 2.45 mm in thickness.

The Australian Platinum Lunar coin page gives more information about the coins.

The Perth Mint's inaugural 2018 Australian Platinum Kangaroos were available for order since the 23rd of October 2017. The 99.95% pure coins are only issued as brilliant uncirculated coins in the single denomination of 1 oz for now. Mintage is unlimited and according to the current market demand. The coins have an official face value of AUD $ 100 and depict the same "Red Kangaroo" design on their reverse side that is also used on the silver version of the coins as well as the larger denominations of the gold version of the coins. The Australian Platinum Kangaroo coins are available individually as well as in sealed mint rolls of 20 coins and sealed mint boxes of 100 coins.

The Australian Platinum Kangaroo page gives more information about the coins.