Australian Koala 1/10 oz Silver

Summary

• The silver Koala coin is an Australian silver bullion coin.

• The Perth Mint has been producing this coin since 2007.

• The depiction of the koala changes every year.

• The Koala coin is official currency.

• The koala coins are curant coins, as their face value is fully covered by the precious metal they contain.

Introduction Australian Koala silver coin

The popular Australian Koala silver coin is produced by the Perth Mint in Australia. The name is derived from the motif on the coin. It is no coincidence that the clumsy marsupial was chosen as the name-giving motif - after all, it is inextricably linked with Australia and is very popular internationally. As the coin is only produced in small quantities and with changing koala motifs, it is also suitable for the collectors' market. These two characteristics distinguish this coin from the usual gold bullion coins such as the American Eagle, Vienna Philharmonic, Maple Leaf and Krugerrand, which look the same every year and are produced in large quantities.

History of the Koala

In Australia, silver is mined alongside various other natural resources. It therefore made sense to issue its own bullion coin, which has been the case since 1990 with the Kookaburra. The Koala coin was issued in 2007 in order to tap into other customer segments. After only a 1 ounce version was available in the first year, the Perth Mint also produced the ½ ounce, 10 ounce and 1 kilogram sizes from 2008.

Appearance of the Koala coin

The obverse shows the Australian head of state. From the first coin until 2022, this was Queen Elizabeth II. The 2023 coin also shows the popular monarch.

The reverse shows a koala, a marsupial that is only found in Australia. The depiction of the koala changes every year. The edge of the coin features the word ‘Koala’ as well as the year, the weight, the fineness and ‘Silver’, the English word for silver.

The popularity of the koala made it an ideal animal for a coin, as customers like to buy coins with animal motifs.

The coin is measured in imperial ounces.

Manufacturer of the Koala coin the Perth Mint

The Perth Mint is Australia's oldest mint. It was founded as a subsidiary of the British Royal Mint and is now one of the two mints of the Australian state. Originally, its task was to produce the Sovereign circulation coins from the gold mined in Australia. Even today, the Perth Mint still refines and processes gold and silver from Australia to the highest quality. The Perth Mint is one of the few LBMA-certified smelters in the world. As a result, you will not only find the Koala coins it produces on the European market, but also gold bars with the swan in the Perth Mint logo. In addition to the Koala coin, the Perth Mint produces other internationally significant precious metal coins such as the Kookaburra, the Kangaroo and the Lunar series.

The 1/10 ounce Koala coin

The 1/10 ounce Koala silver coin has been in production since 2011. At just over 3 grams, it is a small silver coin and is rarely available even in the Perth Mint shop. Further data such as weight and fineness can be found in the table below.

Buy and sell 1/10 ounce Koala coins

Koala coins are easy to sell in Switzerland due to their popularity and high fineness. The annually changing motifs also make them very interesting for collectors. You can buy and sell Koala coins on PreMeSec.ch.