- Investment gold coins of Australia of the “Lunar series“
- 5 dollar denomination
- 10 dollars denomination
- 15 dollar denomination
- 25 dollar denomination
- 50 dollar denomination
- 100 dollar denomination
- 200 dollar denomination
- 1,000 dollar denomination
- 3,000 dollar denomination
- What this series of coins was made for
- History of the Mint
- The design
- What denominations are in the circulation
- The price of “lunar” dollars of Australia on the market
- Interesting facts
Australian gold coins of the “Lunar” series are the most popular investment coins. Its popularity caused two reissues of them. In addition to the interest associated with savings, coins of this series cause an unprecedented stir among collectors. All Australian gold coins in our catalog.
Investment gold coins of Australia of the “Lunar series“
5 dollar denomination
5 Australian dollar denomination is being minted of 999.9 fine gold and it has a weight of 1/20 ounces (1.571 g). The diameter is 14.8 mm, and the thickness of the edge is 1.4 mm. The obverse of coins is decorated with the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and there is an animal from the eastern horoscope on the reverse.
“Year of the Rat” 1996
“Year of the Ox” 2009
“Year of the Rooster” 2017
All 5 Dollars Australian gold coins in our catalog.
10 dollars denomination
10 Australian dollar denomination has a specific reverse design that distinguishes them from the other “lunar” dollars of Australia. The obverse of the coin has remained unchanged. The weight of ten-dollar gold coins is 1/10 ounces of 999.9 fine gold, and the diameter is 25 mm.
“Year of the Pig” 2007
“Year of the Goat” 2015
All 10 Dollars Australian gold coins in our catalog.
15 dollar denomination
15 Australian dollar denomination was issued by two “lunar” series, which have some differences in the design of the reverse. This is clearly seen from the coins “The year of the Horse” of 2002 and 2014. The weight of this denomination coin, made of gold with a fineness of 999.9, is 1/10 troy ounce. The diameter is 18.6 mm, and the thickness of the edge is 2 mm.
“Year of the Horse” 2002
“Year of the Dragon” 2012
“Year of the Horse” 2014
“Year of the Rooster” 2017
“Year of the Dog” 2018
All 15 Dollars Australian gold coins in our catalog.
25 dollar denomination
25 Australian dollar denomination was also issued by two “Lunar” series, which differ in the type of edging and details of the images. The weight of such gold coins is 1/4 of a troy ounce. The diameter is 22.6 mm, and the thickness of the edge is 2.2 mm.
“Year of the Tiger” 1998
“Year of the Rooster” 2017
50 dollar denomination
50 Australian dollar denomination, as well as the previous denominations of gold coins, was issued in two series, which have some differences in design. Attention is drawn to the type of edging of the coin, images and minor differences in the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The weight of the coin is 1/2 troy ounce of gold with a fineness of 999.9. The diameter is 30.6 mm and the thickness of the edge is 2.5 mm.
“Year of the Monkey” 2004
“Year of the Dog” 2018
100 dollar denomination
100 Australian dollar denomination is also represented by two “Lunar” series with the distinctive features in design as in previous denominations. The weight of such coins is 1 troy ounce of pure gold (999.9). The diameter of the coin is 39.34 mm, and the thickness of the edge is 2.5 mm.
“Year of the Dragon” 2000
“Year of the Pig” 2007
“Year of the Ox” 2009
“Year of the Horse” 2014
“Year of the Monkey” 2016
“Year of the Rooster” 2017
200 dollar denomination
200 Australian dollar denomination has a weight of 2 ounces, which is 62.215 g of pure gold. Its diameter is 39.34 mm, and the thickness of the edge is 3.9 mm. Like all coins of this series, it has two reissues.
“Year of the Goat” 2015
1,000 dollar denomination
1,000 Australian dollar denomination is a coin w of 10 ounces of gold, which is 311.067 g. Its diameter is 75.6 mm, and the thickness of the edge is 9 mm.
“Year of the Ox” 2007
3,000 dollar denomination
3,000 Australian dollar denomination has an impressive weight of 1 kg. The diameter of the coin is 100.5 mm, and the thickness of its edge is 9 mm.
“Year of the Dragon” 2012
All 3000 Dollars Australian gold coins in our catalog.
What this series of coins was made for
The first “Lunar” series of gold Australian dollars depicting the animals of the eastern zodiacal circle for each year began to be minted in 996 and was finished after 12 years in 2007. The popularity of the first edition of this series was unusually high. And the reason for this is quite simple – a beautiful design, the possibility of investing your own money and a wonderful gift to a person born under a particular sign. In this regard, the Royal Australian Mint has decided to re-issue this series, beginning in 2008, slightly changing the design of coins.
History of the Mint
Today, the only state mint in Australia is Perth. It is located in the capital of Western Australia – the city of Perth. Its history began in the 19th century, when Australia was a part of the British Empire. At that time there were two more mints in Sydney and Melbourne, due to the development of gold mines. The Perth Mint was built near the Kalgoorlie mine and in the summer of 1899 it began minting of the first coins. Control over all the work was in the hands of Britain at that time, but after 1970 the mint in Perth came under the control of the Western Australia State authorities.
The design
Two artists-engravers, Ian Rank-Bradley and Travis Farley, worked on the creation of the sketches of coins series. Both issues of the “Lunar” series are very similar in their design, but have some details that are slightly different, if you look closely. It is necessary to highlight the gold coins of 10 dollar denomination, the reverse of which has a unique design in the Chinese style and stands out
The design of the coin, issued in 2016, which is the year of the Monkey is interesting. The obverse of the coin with the image of Queen Elizabeth II is decorated with a ring with miniature symbols of the entire zodiac circle.
What denominations are in the circulation
The main coin denominations of this series are 5, 15, 25, 50, and 100 dollars, which correspond to 1/20, 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ounce of gold, accordingly. In addition, a 10 dollar denomination of gold was issued in a small circulation, duplicating the same denomination in silver. And in separate editions there were issued coins of large denominations of 200, 1,000, 3,000, 30,000 and 1,000,000 dollars.
All investment coins in this series are legal tender on the territory of Australia.
The price of “lunar” dollars of Australia on the market
Since the entire “Lunar” series of Australian dollars, made of gold, is an excellent option for investing and saving, she price for them does not correspond to the actual nominal value. The main price formation criterion is the cost of 1 troy ounce of gold on the world’s major stock exchanges for precious metals. So, for example, the price of a gold coin of this series with a face value of 10 dollars can reach 300 dollars, the cost of 25 “lunar” gold dollars can reach 300-350 dollars, the price of 50 “lunar” dollars can vary between 630-640 dollars, and the nominal value of 100 can be purchased for 1,200 – 1,350 dollars for a coin. The growth in the value of these coins is also affected by small circulations that do not exceed 30,000 copies in different years, which makes them even more attractive for collectors.
Interesting facts
- The world’s largest gold coin was minted by the mint in Perth. Its face value is AUD 1,000,000. The weight of this coin was 101,2 kg, diameter – 80 cm, and the thickness of the edge – 12 cm. The cost of this coin on the market is 53.5 million dollars.
- The Perth Mint processes about 60 percent of all gold, which is mined during the year in Australia.