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    Australian Silver Koala Celebrates 10th Anniversary

    2017-Australian-Koala-1oz-Silver-Bullion-Coin-Reverse-LIn 2007, the Australian Silver Koala coin program made its debut from the Perth Mint as the newest annual bullion coin program. The coin follows in the footsteps of the longer-running Australian Silver Kookaburra coin, which debuted in 1990 and set the standard for new annual reverse designs that have become a common theme of the Perth Mint’s annual bullion coins. As the Perth Mint celebrates the first decade of the highly successful Australian Silver Koala, an new design is once again available on the 2017 Australian Silver Koala coin.

    The 2017 Australian Silver Koala

    The 2017 Australian Silver Koala Coin is part of the celebratory 10th anniversary release of the Silver Koala. The Silver Koala program debuted in 2007 as part of an expansion of the Perth Mint’s annual silver bullion release programs, which launched in 1990 with the Australian Silver Kookaburra. Over the past 10 years, 10 new designs have debuted from Perth Mint celebrating the cuddly koala.

    For the 2017 Australian Silver Koala Coin, the reverse design field of the coin includes the 11th new design in the collection, and perfectly captures the life of a koala. These cuddly marsupials, though more than capable of aggressively defending themselves, spend up to 20 hours each day napping and sleeping. This depiction shows an adult koala sitting on the ground at the base of a eucalyptus tree, which provides the primary food in its diet.

    On the obverse of the 2017 Australian Silver Koala coin, as always, you’ll find the image of Queen Elizabeth II, captured in right-profile relief by Ian Rank-Broadley in 1998. The Queen’s effigy appears on all Australian coinage, and it has since she ascended to the British throne in 1952. Today, Queen Elizabeth II is Britain’s longest reigning monarch and currently the longest reigning in the world.

    The Australian Silver Koala Coin is typically offered by the Perth Mint in ½ oz, 1 oz, 10 oz, and 1 Kilo options in various years of its release. For the 2017 Australian Silver Koala Coin, the Perth Mint has unveiled only the mintage figures and plans for the 2017 1 oz Australian Silver Koala and the 2017 1 Kilo Australian Silver Koala coin. Shared details include:

    • Contains .999 pure silver in BU condition.
    • Bears a face value of $1 (AUD) backed by the federal government of Australia.
    • Obverse bears Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy.
    • Reverse includes the all-new 2017 Koala design.

    The 2017 1 oz Australian Silver Koala Coin has a set mintage figure of just 300,000 coins, while the 2017 1 Kilo Australian Silver Koala Coin has an unlimited mintage figure. When Perth Mint assigns an “unlimited mintage,” it means that the coin will be struck as demand requires only throughout the 2017 calendar year.

    Each of these 2017 Australian Silver Koala Coins is available to you in BU condition. Coins in this condition exhibit no signs of wear and tear, though you may notice minor flaws such as breaks in the luster, spotted surfaces, or contact marks from the coining process at the mint.

    Brief Background on Australian Silver Koalas

    The Perth Mint first introduced its koala coins in 2007 with the release of these popular Silver Koala coins. There is also a gold version of the coin, with the gold and silver programs sharing a few common traits. First and foremost, the design motif always focuses on the koala and its primary dietary source, the eucalyptus leaf. However, the specific design used each year changes to add value to and interest in the coin program. Although the design sets change each year, you can always expect to see either a single koala or an adult and youth, along with eucalyptus.

    Perth Mint Gold Koala coins were introduced a year later in 2008, and the gold coins are only struck in proof versions, unlike these Australian Silver Koala coins which feature both a bullion and proof version. As this is the 10th anniversary of the Australian Silver Koala coin’s first release, it is an excellent time to recap the designs used throughout the past decade:

    • 2007: The program launched with the image of a young koala clinging tightly to the branch of a eucalyptus branch.
    • 2008: The 2nd release of the program featured an adult koala sitting on the branch of a eucalyptus tree with its young clinging to its back.
    • 2009: A koala is depicted sitting on a eucalyptus branch at a Y-shaped intersection, its cuddly face looking right at you the viewer.
    • 2010: This coin featured a koala on all fours clinging to a branch as it eats some of the eucalyptus from the tree.
    • 2011: A mother koala and its young baby sit in the Y-branch of a eucalyptus tree, the mother looking ready for nap as its youngster gazes out.
    • 2012: The koala spends up to 20 hours each day sleeping, and the 2012 design captured a tuckered out koala napping on a tree branch.
    • 2013: In this depiction, a koala is again shown sitting at the crook of a tree gazing out with a cautious look as it scans for threats.
    • 2014: The first close up design in the coin’s program, the fur and hairs of the koala are captured brilliantly on this design which includes a grouping of eucalyptus leaves in the foreground.
    • 2015: One of the most detailed designs, the 2015 coin includes a koala sitting in the crook of a eucalyptus tree clinging to a portion of the trunk and leaning on a broken branch behind, with the Australian Outback visible in the background.
    • 2016: Last year’s release included a koala walking along a eucalyptus branch.

    About Perth Mint

    The Perth Mint the final of the three British colonial mint facilities to open on the Australian continent. Following the discovery of gold and other precious metals throughout Australia’s west, the Sydney and Melbourne Mints were boosted by the production capacity of the Perth Mint. Opened in 1899, the Perth Mint is now the oldest operating facility in the country following the closure of the Sydney and Melbourne facilities.

    In 1970, control of the Perth Mint passed to the government of Western Australia, and remains a state-owned entity to this day. While its original purpose was to refine gold from Western Australia and produce British sovereigns, today it is the nation’s official bullion mint, and produces some of the most popular commemorative coins in the world.

    Although it remains a separate entity for the national government’s Royal Australian Mint, all coins from the Perth Mint enjoy legal-tender status under the Currency Act of 1965.

    Watch for the 2017 Australian Silver Koala

    The 2017 Australian Silver Koala coin is now available from the Perth Mint, and you’ll find it soon in the JM Bullion online portfolio. Keep checking our site so you don’t miss your chance to capture the 2017 Australian Silver Koala for yourself!

    Disclaimer: All Market Updates are provided as a third party analysis and do not necessarily reflect the explicit views of JM Bullion Inc. and should not be construed as financial advice.

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