Perth Mint

The Australian Perth Mint – traditional minting

The Perth Mint is the oldest still-functioning mint in Australia with global reputation. It was opened in 1899 as a branch of the British Royal Mint, and until today it has minted above all gold coins and silver coins.

From Offshoot to Thriving Independence

Until the end of the 19th century the British kingdom encompassed large parts of the globe. In the past, the nations of the Commonwealth were - and still are today - united by their joint head of state; consequently the acting British Queen is depicted on every coin of the Perth Mint. As the Royal Mint sourced the gold for minting its coins from distant colonies, it suggested itself to establish mints in the colonies themselves and to mint the gold coins directly on site, instead of shipping the gold first to England and then taking the produced gold coins back into the member states of the Commonwealth.

Consequently, in 1896 the foundation blocks were laid for the Perth Mint to be able to convert the gold dug in the West of Australia into coins and gold bars.

With the elimination of the Sovereign in 1931 and the introduction of the British pound, the method of operation of the Perth Mint changed. From then on, the mint did not only produce new and current circulation coins, but also incorporated other coins into its repertoire. In 1970, the management of the Australian coins was transferred from Great Britain to the Government of Western Australia. Since 1987 the Perth Mint is a subsidiary of the Gold Corporation, an Australian precious metal corporation controlled by the state, which co-ordinates the marketing of Australian gold.

The Perth Mint today

Like in the past the Perth Mint operates its own precious metal refinery and goldsmiths. It produces many different products in its workshops made from different precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum or palladium - including some of the best-known bullion and collectors' coins. The most important coins include amongst other coins the Kookaburra Silver Coin, the Koala Silver Coin and the Australian Gold Nugget.

Gold bars with the iconic logo of the Perth Mint, the Golden Swan, are also produced in the historic mint. At the end of 1982, the minting of official coins in circulation was discontinued to move the focus of the production to bullion coins, collectors' coins and bars. Since 1983 the current coins in circulation have therefore been produced exclusively by the Royal Australian Mint. Nonetheless, the Perth Mint is one of the mints with the highest revenue in the world. Until the beginning of the new millennium 4500 tons of gold were processed here. This corresponds to approximately 3.25% of the entire amount of gold processed in the world at all times.

1 ton Red Kangaroo Gold Coin - The record gold coin of the Perth Mint

The Perth Mint issued its biggest and most massive gold coin in October 2011. The coin was minted according to the pattern of the Australian Nugget, it has the impressive weight of 1012 kg, a diameter of 80 cm and a thickness of 12 cm. A giant red kangaroo was minted onto a coin blank made with 24 carat gold (refined gold with a purity of 99.99%). This minted image gave the coin its name: "The Red Kangaroo".

The reverse side shows that classical image of the British Queen Elizabeth II. With a nominal value of AUD 1 million, this gold coin is still regarded as an official means of payment in Australia, but the pure gold value was much higher at the time of issuance with AUD 53.5 million.

Coins of the Perth Mint are very popular

For many years the coins of the Perth Mint have been some of the most popular and prestigious coins on the international coin market. Traders, collectors and investors are convinced of the purity and quality of the Australian classical coins, such as for example the Australian Lunar series, the Gold Kangaroo and the Sovereign; consequently products of the Perth Mint form part of most portfolios.

Convince yourselves of the high quality of the products of the tradition-steeped Perth Mint. In our online shop you will find numerous coins of this well-known mint made from silver, gold, palladium and platinum. Should you have any questions or comments, please contact us at any time. It will be our pleasure to advise you on the selection for your portfolio.