Today's coin reveal post features the 1oz .999 Silver 1999 Australian Kookaburra with Square Penny Privy struck by the Perth Mint.
This coin has the same design as the bullion version of the 1999 Australian Kookaburra coin, the point of difference with this coin is that it has a Privy Mark to the left of the kookaburras. The Privy Mark features the Australian Square Penny.
I have written a previous post about the history of the Australian Square Penny, but for those that are new to my blog, I will give you a bit of a recap.
Back in 1919, the Labor Government had a desire to incorporate one of Australia’s native birds into the nation’s coinage. The Labor Government were not very favourable of the British Monarchy and they wanted to make political statement post World War I. Their goal was to move from British coin designs, in an effort to encourage the wave of Australian nationalism that was sweeping the country.
Ultimately the campaign was a failure as the public did not react favourably to the coin and there was widespread resistance for a number of reasons:
- The coin was too small and not popular amongst the elderly population.
- The square shape of the coin was not compatible with vending machines, which were becoming more and more popular.
The trial period ran from 1919 - 1921 where only 200 square coins were minted. The square kookaburra penny coins are now very sort after and very valuable. The Perth Mint has issued a number of coin designs over the years to pay tribute to the square penny, a short-lived but important piece of Australian history.
1. Coin Story
In my post that I wrote yesterday, I mentioned that when I was buying the Lunar Dragon Series I coin, I visited the seller next door and bought a number of well priced coins from his display cabinet, well this is one of those coins. I will be featuring a few of the coins that I bought from that seller over the next few days.
2. Coin Packaging
These coins are packaged in individual sealed plastic capsules. Each coin is protected by the black clam shell case. On the outside of the clam case is the Perth Mint logo in silver with the words "1919 SQUARE PENNY" PRIVY MARK.
3. Coin Details
a. Mintage
The mintage of this coin was 4,000 coins. Each of the coins were issued as legal tender under the authority of the Australian Government with the denomination of $1 (Australian).
b. Purity
The purity of the coin is .999 fine silver.
c. Details
| Mint/Brand: | The Perth Mint |
|---|---|
| Silver Content: | 1 Troy Ounce |
| Purity: | .999 Fine Silver |
| Denomination: | $1 (Australian) |
| Year of Issue: | 1999 |
| Edge: | Milled |
| Mintage: | 4,000 |
| Diameter: | 40.6mm |
| Thickness: | 3mm |
4. Coin Design
a. Reverse Design
The reverse of the coin depicts two kookaburras perched on a eucalyptus branch. The square penny privy mark is to the left of the kookaburras.
The design includes an inscription 'THE AUSTRALIAN KOOKABURRA', the coin weight '1 OZ', the coin purity '999 SILVER' and the year of issue '1999'.
a. Obverse Design
The obverse of the coin portrays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The design also includes the inscriptions 'ELIZABETH II', country of origin 'AUSTRALIA' and the denomination '1 DOLLAR' (Australian).
Post authored by @strenue
@dfinney will like this mother and baby Kookaburra!
I love it too!
😍😍😍
Only 200 of these square coins in those 3 years? A tough coin to collect.
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