2005 Australian Kookaburra Silver Coin, 1 ounce

TheAustralian Kookaburra is another coin from Perth that celebrates Australia’s natural wealth.

The world-famous silver coin featuring the kookaburra is the work of the Perth Mint. It is Australia’s official bullion mint, wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. It was founded on June 20, 1899, two years before the federation of Australia in 1901. Together with the Royal Australian Mint—which produces the country’s circulation coins— —the Perth Mint is the older of the two Australian mints issuing investment products that are legal tender. One such product is the Kookaburra silver coin, which debuted on the market in 1990. Its reverse design changes every year, but it always features the Australian bird against a backdrop of Oceania’s flora. The regular design changes and limited mintage give the Kookaburra silver coin a significantly higher collector’s value than other popular investment coins.

The reverse of this silver coin depicts a kookaburra sitting alone on a tree branch. Surrounding it are inscriptions indicating the series name, the coin’s weight, the silver fineness, and the date of issue. The obverse of the coin remains unchanged from previous issues in the series—it features Queen Elizabeth II in right-side profile.