Australian Silver Kookaburra facts for kids
| Australia | |
| Value | 1 Dollar (face value) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 31.1 g (1.0 troy oz) |
| Diameter | 40.6 mm (1.52 in) |
| Thickness | 2.98 mm (0.117 in) |
| Edge | Reeded slanted left |
| Composition | 99.99% Ag |
| Years of minting | 1990-present |
| Obverse | |
 |
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| Design | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Designer | Jody Clark |
| Design date | 2015 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | A kookaburra at sunset |
| Designer | Aleysha Howart |
| Design date | 2018 |
The Silver Kookaburra is a silver bullion coin originating from Australia, and produced at the Perth Mint starting in 1990. The coins were .999 fine silver until the 2018 edition, which increased in purity to .9999 silver. While the obverse of the coin always depicts Queen Elizabeth II, the reverse side changes every year, always featuring a kookaburra, a bird native to Australia. Due to the yearly design change and limited production of the one-ounce coins, they have higher collectible value than some other bullion coins. The Perth Mint generally ships the coins in individual plastic capsules. One-ounce coins ship in shrink wrap rolls of 20, with 5 rolls in each box of 100. They are minted in four sizes; 1000g, 10, 2 and 1 troy ounces.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the kookaburra coin, the 2015 coin features the same image of the kookaburra as the original 1990 coin. To differentiate the 1990 and 2015 coins the date on the reverse reads 1990-2015 and 2015 has been added to the obverse. The 2015 coin had a release date of September 1, 2014.
Specifications
| Specifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight (troy oz) |
Weight (grams) |
Face Value | Diameter (mm) |
Thickness (mm) |
| 1002.50 | AU$30 | 101.00 | 14.60 | |
| 10 | 312.35 | AU$10 | 75.50 | 8.70 |
| 2 | 62.77 | AU$2 | 50.30 | 4.50 |
| 1 | 31.135 | AU$1 | 40.60 | 4.00 |
One Ounce History
The maximum mintage of the one troy ounce coin is capped, while the others have unlimited mintage based on demand. Perth Mint originally intended to expand the 2013 mintage to one million coins, however, they later reduced this number to 500,000 and declared that future years would continue to be limited to this amount. In addition to the annual design change, there is also a design change between the bullion and proof versions of the coin each year. No proof coins were minted between 2006-2011; however, there was a 1-ounce silver proof Kookaburra colored coin struck in 2012 for the Discover Australia coin series. Since 2012, the proof coin has been struck in high relief only.
Special editions such as privy marked, colored, and gilded are often available.
| Year | Bullion mintage | Proof mintage |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 300,000 | 21,671 |
| 1991 | 300,000 | 6,673 |
| 1992 | 219,694 | 6,766 |
| 1993 | 190,581 | 5,121 |
| 1994 | 174,561 | 2,500 |
| 1995 | 154,247 | 3,000 |
| 1996 | 170,105 | 3,500 |
| 1997 | 159,497 | 2,466 |
| 1998 | 103,119 | 2,114 |
| 1999 | 109,364 | 1,646 |
| 2000 | 104,169 | 2,583 |
| 2001 | 169,265 | 3,241 |
| 2002 | 91,604 | 1,733 |
| 2003 | 109,439 | 1,571 |
| 2004 | 84,455 | 1,446 |
| 2005 | 95,145 | 2,346 |
| 2006 | 87,044 | - |
| 2007 | 213,436 | - |
| 2008 | 300,000 | - |
| 2009 | 300,000 | - |
| 2010 | 300,000 | - |
| 2011 | 500,000 | - |
| 2012 | 500,000 | 10,000 |
| 2013 | 500,000 | 5,378 |
| 2014 | 500,000 | 2,550 |
| 2015 | 500,000 | 8,000 |
| 2016 | 500,000 | 2,401 |
| 2017 | 406,265 | 2,845 |
| 2018 | 243,740 | 1,935 |
| 2019 | 219,660 | |
| 2020 | 375,914 | |
| 2021 | 266,676 |
| Year | Privy Mark | Particularity | Mintage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Eagle | Proof coins only | 750 |
| 1993 | Sydney Opera House | Proof coins only | 15,000 |
| 1994 | Team Australia - Commonwealth Games | 15,000 | |
| 1995 | Panda | Gilded privy | 10,000 |
| 1996 | Panda | Gilded privy | 15,000 |
| Tricentennial naming of the Swan River | 5,000 | ||
| Eiffel Tower (France) | 5,000 | ||
| Brandenburg Gate (Germany) | 5,000 | ||
| Tower Bridge (Great Britain) | 5,000 | ||
| Colossus of Rhodes (Greece) | 5,000 | ||
| The Hague (Netherlands) | 5,000 | ||
| Goya's La Maja desnuda | Gilded privy | 2,500 | |
| Basler stab | 2,500 | ||
| Date on edge of coin | Date and serial number | 1,500 | |
| 1997 | Dragon | Gilded privy | 20,000 |
| Phoenix | Gilded privy | 20,000 | |
| Panda | Gilded privy | 15,000 | |
| Little Mermaid (Denmark) | 5,000 | ||
| Elk (Finland) | 5,000 | ||
| Roman Colosseum (Italy) | 5,000 | ||
| Windmill (Netherlands) | 5,000 | ||
| Monument of the Discoveries (Portugal) | 5,000 | ||
| Utrecht Coat of Arms | 2,500 | ||
| Zurich Coat of Arms | 2,500 | ||
| Japanese Golden Yen | Gilded privy | 2,500 | |
| Thomas Edison | Gilded privy | 2,500 | |
| 1998 | St. Stephen's Cathedral (Austria) | 5,000 | |
| Celtic harp (Ireland) | 5,000 | ||
| Schuman Building (Luxembourg) | 5,000 | ||
| Alhambra palace (Spain) | 5,000 | ||
| Vasa warship (Sweden) | 5,000 | ||
| 1999 | 1999 Australian Gold Sovereign coin | Gilded privy | 5,000 |
| Austrian 20 Schilling | 5,000 | ||
| Belgian 50 Frank | 5,000 | ||
| Finnish 1 Markka | 5,000 | ||
| French 5 Francs | 5,000 | ||
| German 1 Mark | 5,000 | ||
| Irish 1 Punt | 5,000 | ||
| Italian 1000 Lire | 5,000 | ||
| Luxembourg 50 Francs | 5,000 | ||
| Netherlands 1 Gulden | 5,000 | ||
| Portuguese 50 Escudo | 5,000 | ||
| Spanish 100 Pesetas | 5,000 | ||
| Australian 1919 square penny | 3,500 | ||
| 16th century Japanese Koban coin | Gilded privy | 2,500 | |
| 2001 | Commonwealth Star | Gilded privy | 10,000 |
| Santa Claus | Colored privy | 1,000 | |
| 2002 | US Flag | Colored privy | 18,496 |
| 2004 | Gilded kookaburras | 10,000 | |
| 2005 | Zodiac (12 coins total) | 5,000 (for each month) |
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| 2007 | Gilded kookaburra | 10,000 | |
| 2012 | Lunar calendar dragon | 64,989 | |
| 2013 | Lunar snake | 50,000 | |
| Fabulous 15 | 7,600 | ||
| 2014 | Lunar horse | 50,000 | |
| Fabulous 15 | 7,000 | ||
| 2015 | Lunar goat | 50,000 | |
| Fabulous 15 | 7,350 | ||
| 2016 | Lunar monkey | 50,000 | |
| Fabulous 15 | 5,252 | ||
| 2017 | Lunar Rooster | 50,000 | |
| Panda | 8,000 | ||
| Shark | 31,482 | ||
| 2018 | Lunar dog | 50,000 | |
| Panda | 8,000 | ||
| Fabulous 15 | 4,805 |
See also
- Australian Silver Kangaroo (bullion)
- Australian Silver Koala
- Bullion
- Bullion coin
- Inflation hedge
- Silver as an investment
