The Perth Mint experienced ups and downs in its various annual bullion coin programs, from the Australian Silver Kookaburra coins to the Australian Gold Kangaroos. Sales figures for the mint’s fiscal year stretch through October 12, 2016, and figures released by the Perth Mint for the end of the 2016 sales year do not reflect continued sales for its major bullion programs through the end of the calendar year 2016.
Perth Mint adopts, for most 1 oz coins in its various programs, an unlimited mintage figure. This doesn’t mean the mint strikes the coins indefinitely. Rather, the mint will strike coins in a given silver or gold bullion program through the end of the calendar year of release (for example, 2016), and then cease to produce anymore. Below is a rundown of the major bullion coin programs for the past fiscal year at Perth Mint.
2016 Australian Gold Kangaroo
The oldest coin series from the Perth Mint, the 2016 Australian Gold Kangaroo series was behind in all four available weights for 2016 compared to the coin’s 2015 release. This year, the coin was available in a 1 Kilo, 1 oz, ½ oz, ¼ oz, and 1/10 oz weight. A 5 oz coin struck in 2015 was not produced for 2016. Sales figures for these coins are as follows, with 2015 numbers noted afterward:
- 1 Kilo: 24 (151)
- 1 oz: 78,609 (206,743)
- ½ oz: 12,053 (28,477)
- ¼ oz: 13,950 (25,800)
- 1/10 oz: 28,659 (60,726)
Kangaroos serve as symbols for various groups and government agencies in Australia. It not only appears on the official coat of arms for the nation, but is also used as a logo for the Royal Australian Air Force and as a brand image for Quantas Airlines.
On the reverse face of each 2016 1 oz Australian Gold Kangaroo Coin is the image of a kangaroo as it stands, resting on its muscular tail. The background image on the coin is that of a silhouette outlining another kangaroo in the distance. Engravings around the image include “Australian Kangaroo,” and the coin’s year of minting, weight, purity, and metal content.
2016 Australian Silver Kangaroo
The 2016 release year featured the first-ever .9999 pure silver bullion coin from the Perth Mint with the introduction of the all-new 2016 Australian Silver Kangaroo. As a new coin, there’s no basis for comparison, but the Perth Mint saw tremendous demand for the brand-new coin. With an established unlimited mintage figure, the declared mintage for the new Australian Silver Kangaroo coin was 5,088,014 units sold.
On the reverse is the image of the Australian kangaroo, complete with a new security feature in the letter “A” for the engraving of “Australia.” When viewed under magnification, a smaller letter A is visible. The obverse bears the right-profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as found on all Perth Mint coins.
2016 Australian Silver Kookaburra
The Australian Silver Kookaburra is the second-longest running coin program from Perth Mint, and was the silver coin that launched the variety of Australian-wildlife themed coins, including the Australian Silver Koala, Australian Silver Kangaroo, and the 1990 revamp of the Australian Gold Nugget to the Australian Gold Kangaroo. Sales figures for the two primary weights of 10 oz and 1 oz bullion coins in this collection were down in 2016:
- 10 oz: With an unlimited mintage, the 10 oz sold just 4,862 in 2016 compared to 26,272 in 2015.
- 1 oz: These coins are limited to 500,000 annually by the Perth Mint, and while the 2015 coins sold out to that figure, the 2016 coin finished the fiscal year at just 298,096 coins.
On the reverse side is the all-new kookaburra design, which features a single bird sitting atop a fence post with barbed wire wrapped around it. Engravings include “Australian Kookaburra,” and the coin’s year of issue, weight, purity, and metal content.
2016 Australian Lunar Series Gold Coins
The Year of the Monkey took over for the Year of the Goat, and the gold coins in this collection moved at much lower levels than the popular Year of the Goat design in 2015. Lunar Series II coins are sold on a different schedule than other silver bullion coins from the mint, with coins going on sale for each release year much earlier than coins such as the Australian Silver Kookaburra to coincide with the Chinese lunar calendar.
The 2016 Australian Lunar Gold Coins were available in a wide range of weights that included 1 Kilo, 10 oz, 2 oz, 1 oz, ½ oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz, and even 1/20 oz options. All of the coins had unlimited mintage figures set, with the exception of the 1 oz which was capped at 30,000 for the release. The 1 oz was the only coin to match the Year of the Goat strikings from the year before. 2016 Australian Gold Lunar Year of the Monkey sales figures are below with previous year listed afterward:
- 1 Kilo: 69 (178)
- 10 oz: 405 (733)
- 2 oz: 1,337 (3,225)
- 1 oz: Sold Out at 30,000
- ½ oz: 7,902 (11,961)
- ¼ oz: 7,503 (13,650)
- 1/10 oz: 14,749 (43,036)
- 1/20 oz: 8,327 (66,693)
The reverse side bears the unique Australian Gold Year of the Monkey image from artist Ing Ing Jong. In a similar depiction to the silver version of the program, the Gold Year of the Monkey coin bears the image of a single adult monkey on the branch of a peach tree as it looks over its shoulder at a peach hanging from the branch above.
2016 Australian Lunar Series Silver Coins
The 2016 Lunar Series II silver coin performed similar to the gold version, with numbers up and down depending upon the weight when compared to performance of the Year of the Goat coins in 2015. Sales figures for 2016 Australian Silver Year of the Monkey coins are below, with previous year listed afterward:
- 1 Kilo: 9,755 (25,332)
- 10 oz: 4,266 (26,932)
- 5 oz: 11,678 (16,920)
- 2 oz: 10,414 (61,843)
- 1 oz: Sold Out at 300,000 both years
- ½ oz: 127,688 (188,442)
It is worth noting again though that all of these coins, with the exception of the 1 oz variety, have unlimited mintages established and striking of the coins could continue through the end of calendar year 2016. The true picture of Perth Mint’s 2016 Australian Lunar Series collections will become clear near March 2017 as the final counts of the 2016 minting and sales come in.
About Perth Mint
During its time as a Royal Mint facility, the Perth Mint produced gold and sovereigns and half-sovereigns for use as currency inside of Australia and throughout the British Empire. Among its many feats, as of 2000, the Perth Mint has refined and produced 3.25% of mankind’s total gold production. As of 1970, the facility is a state-owned entity of the government in Western Australia. While it is not affiliated with the Royal Australian Mint, the federal government’s official facility, its coins are considered legal tender under the Currency Act of 1965.
