About the Australian Gold Kangaroo / Nugget

The Australian Gold Kangaroo a very desirable gold coin

The Australian Gold Kangaroo is one the few bullion gold coins with a fineness of 99.99% (24K purity) that changes its design every year, just like the Chinese Gold Panda. The difference between these two bullion gold coins is that the Australian Kangaroo Gold Nugget’s design depicts since 1989 the famous marsupial which is a worldwide recognized Australian symbol. The Australian Gold Nuggets are minted by the Perth Mint; however their annual mintage is limited which makes them more desirable for numismatists. The Australian Gold Nugget coins were first produced in 1986 by the Gold Corporation belonging to the government of Western Australia. The Australian Gold Kangaroo coins are minted in different sizes with their respective face values because the Australian Gold Nuggets are legal tender in Australia: 1/20 oz with a face value of A$5; the 1/10 oz is worth A$15; the 1/4 oz worth A$25; the 1/2 oz with a face value of A$50; the 1 oz with a face value of A$100; the 2 oz Australian Kangaroo Gold Nugget; the 10 oz Australian Gold Kangaroo. There are also the 1 kg Gold Kangaroo that was introduced in 1991 together with the 2 oz and 10 oz Gold Nuggets. These three are some of the largest bullion gold coins ever produced, and had the purpose of keeping premium low by using economies of scale. For these particular Australian Gold Nuggets the design which is a red kangaroo stays the same every year, it does not change like in the other denominations’ case.

Particularities of the Australian Gold Kangaroo

The Australian Kangaroo Gold Nugget coins have a unique market niche due to two facts: they have a "two-tone" frosted design effect and each coin is individually encapsulated in a hard plastic. These two particularities transformed the Australian Gold Kangaroo coins into a product that offers a lot of value for a standard price bullion coin mostly because they are not so easily scratched or damaged due to the plastic in which is encapsulated each Australian Kangaroo Gold Nugget. Another particularity of the Australian Gold Kangaroo coins is that when the large sizes started being produced they had immediate success on the American market which began importing them since their first production because they present a great interest for bullion buyers due to their fineness and due to the fact that they are meticulously-made. From 1986, these Australian bullion gold coins featured an image of the largest gold nugget ever found (2,284-oz), a design which was not so appealing at an international level. The Perth Mint changed that in 1989 when the design started to depict on the coins’ reverse different kangaroos which are instantly recognized by any investor or collector. The investors should not make the mistake of confusing the Australian Gold Kangaroo coins with the Australian Lunar Gold Bullion coins. The later coins feature on the reverse images of animals from the Chinese calendar. On the obverse of most of the Australian gold coins, including the Australian Gold Kangaroo, we find the image of Queen Elizabeth II.

The world record held by the Australian Gold Kangaroo

In October 2011, the Perth Mint took on an enormous challenge. They created an Australian Gold Kangaroo coin that weighs 1,000 kilograms of pure gold. Today, is the world’s largest and most valuable gold coin having 80 centimeters in diameter and 12 centimeters thickness. The reverse depicts the image of a red kangaroo, as in the case of smaller varieties of this Australian gold bullion coin, and on the obverse we find the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. If melted it would value over US $55.4 million. However, the legal tender face value of this incredible Australian Gold Kangaroo was established at AUS $1,000,000.