Still some of the most eagerly awaited bullion coins on the annual calendar, the Perth Mint has a track record of fine designs over the years that collectors have snapped up. In recent years, this Australian producer has fully embraced the emerging low mintage, unique design market with a succession of issues. Nature has always been a favourite, as their iconic Koala and Kookaburra series will attest, so it is of little surprise that they would mine the unique fauna of their home continent for some pretty cool designs.

Last year saw the debut of the Australian Emu bullion coin. This unusual flightless bird is a great subject for a coin series as it seems to fit into the circular area of a coin without compromise, something we feel the crocodile, for example, has often struggled with. The 2018 coin depicted a solitary bird, and it was placed in a decent habitat setting rather than just being shown in isolation. The 2019 coin takes things further with a pair of these feisty creatures and a full background filled with detailed flora. We particularly like the way the artwork covers much of the border, which is often far too intrusive and unnecessary.

No surprises on the obverse of course, the Perth Mint rarely strays from the simple effigy of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by the obligatory issue inscriptions, and the latest effigy by Jody Clark is now being employed instead of 2018’s Ian Rank Broadley classic. Two formats are on offer, both weighing in at a troy ounce. One will be the super popular 0.9999 silver, and the other a much more limited mintage 0.9999 gold. Just 30,000 of the former and 5,000 of the latter will be struck.

Like last year, worldwide distribution outside of Australia will be handled by Metal Market EU, and again, they’ve put together a pretty cool mini website that tells you all you need to know, which should be live later today. They’ll sell the coins themselves, and they will also be available worldwide at all the usual dealers. We do like the Perth Mint’s various limited run coins, and this seems to be a particularly fine example. The coins will be on sale from next Monday. We’ll have a look at the proof versions then.