Introduced in 2018, the Next Generation Series from the Perth Mint is among the many other forms of Perth Mint bullion produced each year. The coins in this series come with one design per date mark and always feature the mother of a species with its newborn. Struck on impressive piedfort-style blanks, the Next Generation Series is a great option from the Perth Mint.
2021 Reverse Design
On the reverse side of 2021 Australian Mother & Baby Platypus Silver Coins is a depiction of a mother platypus swimming through the water with its newborn platypus by its side. The duo is searching for food underneath the water along the bottom as bubbles rise around the two. The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal that is endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is a rare mammal that lays eggs and is the only living member of both its family and genus.
Queen Elizabeth II Obverse Design
The obverse face of 2021 Australian Mother & Baby Platypus Coins comes with the sixth-generation effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty is featured here in right-profile in a design from Jody Clark. Created for the Royal Mint of England in 2015, the design shows the Queen at the age of 89 with the George IV State Diadem Crown on her head.
Options in the 2021 Mother & Baby Platypus Series
In the Mother & Baby Series, each design is released in 2 oz silver and 10 oz silver. The 2 oz silver coin is the more unique of the two in that it is struck as a piedfort-style coin. Piedfort is a term that originated in Europe during the Middle Ages as a term referring to thick coin blanks. When the Perth Mint strikes a 2 oz silver coin like this, the diameter of the coin is the same as a 1 Troy oz specimen, but to accommodate the 2 Troy oz of silver, the coins are twice as thick as a standard 1 oz bullion coin.
Both the 2021 Mother & Baby Platypus BU Series coins are struck with limited mintage figures and offered with various packaging options. The 2021 2 oz Australian Mother & Baby Platypus Silver Coin is available with a limited mintage of 75,000 coins and is packaged individually in flips, in acrylic tubes of 10 coins, or Monster Boxes of 100 coins. The 2021 10 oz Australian Mother & Baby Platypus Silver Coin has a much lower mintage at just 2,500 specimens in total and comes with protective plastic capsules for each coin. Monique Reeves is the designer of note for the platypus release.
History of the Platypus at the Perth Mint
The release of a platypus design on the latest Next Generation Series coin continues the Perth Mint’s long-running use of the endemic Australian creature. In 2011, Perth Mint released the Australian Platinum Platypus Series with a 1 oz platinum option using the same design element on the reverse with each date mark. The platypus also featured in 2013 on the Australian Map-Shaped Coin Series.
Collect Your Mother & Baby Platypus
The Australian Mother & Baby Platypus Coins are still available while supplies last at JM Bullion. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Our team can assist you at 800-276-6508, online using our live chat, and via our email address. We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and read our weekly blog posts on new and upcoming product releases.
