Australian Gold Coins

Australian Gold Coins have been minted ever since gold was discovered Down Under in the 19th century. In fact, Australia's Gold Rushes are exciting and historic events, just like our California Gold Rush. And like our Gold Rush, those in Australia resulted in the minting of Gold Coins, right from the beginning and all the way up to the present.

These coins include the first Australian Gold Kangaroos minted at Port Phillip (now Melbourne), followed by vintage Gold Sovereigns struck at Branches of Britain's Royal Mint in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The gold has never stopped flowing out of Australia's mines, and it's been used in the modern era to strike many Gold Coins including the Gold Nugget, the Gold Kangaroo, Gold Koalas, Modern Gold Sovereigns and many commemorative Gold Coins, including Australia's extensive series of Lunar calendar Gold Coins and a new on-the-scene issue, the Australian Gold Eagle.

The first Gold Coins struck Down Under feature the country's iconic kangaroo, and were minted in the 1850s. These incredible rare coins have been reprised with the modern Smithsonian Port Phillip Kangaroo gold issue.

Gold Sovereigns were struck at the Sydney, Melbourne and Perth Mints in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, the Perth Mint was assigned the task of exclusively minting gold Sovereigns, and today it's the oldest continuously operating Mint in Australia. Australia's vintage Gold Sovereigns can be elusive, especially the 1920 Gold Sovereign struck at the Sydney Mint in 1920. This coin is one of the scarcest Gold Sovereigns minted anywhere. The Royal Australian Mint strikes modern Gold Sovereigns as a commemorative issue featuring the reverse design of the first Australia Gold Sovereigns.
One of the first modern Australia Gold Coins is the Gold Nugget. First minted in 1986, the coins feature some of the country's most famous Gold Nuggets: Little Hero (1986–1989), Golden Aussie (1987), Jubilee (1988) among others. Australia Gold Nuggets are struck in .999 fine gold and have been minted in one-tenth, one-quarter, one-half and one Troy ounce sizes.

The modern Gold Kangaroo has been minted since 1989.  Both the Perth Mint and the Royal Australia Mint strike Gold Kangaroos.

Showcasing one of Australia's favorite animals, the ongoing Australian Koala Gold Coin Series portrays delightful and original artistry each year of the Australian koala in an outback setting. The gold series comprises a 2oz, 1oz high relief, 1/10oz and 1/25oz coin each struck by The Perth Mint from .9999 pure gold in proof quality.

Australia strikes it's Australian Gold Lunar Coin Series each year honoring the current year's Lunar animal. This series offers a wide variety of sizes and is among the most sought after Lunar series by collectors.

The U.S. Mint has been striking Gold Eagles since 1986. Now, for the first time ever, Australia is striking its own Gold Eagle and the eagle on the coin was designed by John Mercanti, the 12th Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint. This is the first time in history that a U.S. Mint Chief Engraver has designed a coin to be struck at another major world mint. The Gold Eagle coins feature Australia's wedge-tailed eagle. Most who see these Gold Eagles agree, it's a spectacular, lively design. Each Australia Gold Eagle is .9999 Fine Gold, and that's among the purest gold used to strike coins anywhere. In addition, these Mercanti-designed Australian Gold Eagles are graded by by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and are encapsulated in a holder with a label hand-signed by Mr. Mercanti.