The cities of Houston, Texas and Perth, Australia enjoy a special social and cultural relationship as Sister Cities. More than just a silly title, President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded Sister Cities International in 1956 to promote long-term partnerships between two cities in different countries. Right now, the ½ oz Texas-Australia Sister Cities Silver Coin is available to purchase online from JM Bullion.
Coin Highlights:
- Arrives in protective plastic for individual coins, with multiples of 25 arriving in a mint tube and 500 in a box.
- Issued only in 2014 to celebrate 30 years as Sister Cities!
- Limited mintage of only 500,000 coins!
- Contains ½ Troy oz of .999 pure silver in BU condition.
- Bears a face value of $.50 (AUD) backed by the federal government of Australia.
- Obverse includes Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy.
- Reverse features an energy-themed design representing both cities.
Each ½ oz Texas-Australia Sister Cities Silver Coin is available in BU condition. Coins in this condition exhibit no signs of wear and tear. With that said, minor flaws such as breaks in the luster, spotted surfaces, and contact marks from coining are possible.
In 1984, the cities of Houston, Texas in the United States and Perth, Western Australia in Australia joined together in an official partnership as Sister Cities. The historical foundation for this partnership went much further back than 1984 however.
During the Battle of Sunda Strait in World War II, the USS Houston and HMAS Perth formed a joint American-Australian task force that attacked a superior Japanese naval force in hopes of delaying Japanese movements toward Australia. Both ships were sunk that day, but succeeded in stalling the Japanese Navy long enough for the American and Australian navies to regroup and halt the Japanese advance entirely.
On the reverse of these ½ oz Texas-Australia Sister Cities Silver Coins you’ll find an energy-themed design that features two distinctly different oil derricks. On the right is the typical offshore derrick you’ll find in the Gulf of Mexico off Houston’s coast, while the other represents the energy efforts of Australian firms in and around Perth.
The obverse of the Texas-Australia Sister Cities Silver Coins includes the image of Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty’s effigy is captured in right-profile relief, and represents the fourth-generation depiction created in 1998 by Ian-Rank Broadley.
These coins were produced in 2014 by the Perth Mint for Texas Precious Metals. The issue date marked the 30th anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Houston and Perth. The Perth Mint is a state-owned entity of Western Australia, and is currently the oldest operating mint facility in Australia.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. JM Bullion customer service is available at 800-276-6508, online using our live chat, or via our email address. For your convenience, the price of silver is updated throughout the day on our homepage!
“Nice coin, I didn’t know Perth Australia was a SISTER CITY OF Houston”