The Perth Mint has started accepting orders for another batch of new product releases. This includes the 2013 Year of the Snake 5 oz. silver proof coin and two coins to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The latest releases are available within the ongoing Dragons of Legend, Birds of Australia, and Australian Seasons series. A brand new series debuts with the first coins featuring the Sydney Opera House.

For collectors in the United States, sales will begin at January 31, 2013 at 11:01 AM ET. These coins can all be found as the first entries within the recent releases section on the Perth Mint’s website.

Perth Mint Product Page

The new products begin with the Australian Lunar series 2013 Year of the Snake 5 oz. Silver Proof Coin. The design depicts a snake curled around a tree branch that has been seen on the previous Lunar series numismatic and bullion silver coins.

This latest release is struck in 5 troy ounces of 99.9% pure silver to proof quality. The diameter of each coin is 65.60 mm and the maximum mintage is 5,000 pieces. Each coin comes in a presentation case with illustrated shipper and numbered certificate of authenticity.

Perth Mint Product Pages for Silver Coin and Gold Coin

The next release celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on gold and silver coins. The 1 oz Silver coin features Sir Cecil Beaton’s official Coronation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in color. The inscriptions include “Anniversary of Coronation”, the dates “1953-2013″, and the metal content and purity. The 1/4 oz. Gold Coin features a struck impression of Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonial regalia, as captured by Sir Cecil Beaton.

Both coins feature the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of the Queen on the obverse with the “2013″ date.

The silver coin is offered individually with an issue limit of 5,000 pieces within this packaging. An overall mintage limit of 7,500 has been established. The gold coin is offered individually with a mintage limit of 1,000 pieces. Each coin comes in a display case with illustrated shipper and numbered certificate of authenticity.

Perth Mint Product Page

The latest release within the Dragons of Legend series features the European Green Dragon against a mountain scene. This coin is struck in 1 troy ounce 99.9% pure silver to proof quality. The mintage limit is 5,000 pieces.

This is the fifth and final coin in the series. All four previous releases featuring the Red Welsh Dragon, Chinese Dragon, St George and the Dragon, and Three-Headed Dragon have each sold out.

Perth Mint Product Page

The second release within the Australian Seasons series is available. The 1 oz. 99.9% pure silver square coin features an Autumn theme. In Australia, this season occurs in the months of March, April, and May. The design features a possom against an bush sunset.

The coins have a weight of 31.135 grams, and dimensions of 33.20 mm by 33.20 mm. A maximum mintage of 5,000 pieces has been established. The previous release featuring Summer is still available for sale.

Perth Mint Product Page

The third release within the Australian Birds series is available. The 1/2 oz. 99.9% pure silver coin features the Regent Bowerbird. The design features a male Regent Bowerbird in the foreground with a female in the background, along with representations of Australian vegetation.

The coins have a weight of 15.591 grams and diameter of 36.60 mm. The maximum mintage is 10,000 pieces. The previous releases of the series featuring the Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo and Budgerigar still remain available for sale.

Perth Mint Product Pages for Silver Coin and Gold Coin

The Perth Mint begins a new one year series entitled “The Land Down Under” which will showcase aspects of Australia’s ancient culture, its discovery, lifestyle, and iconic landmarks. The first releases feature the Sydney Opera House, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The 1 oz. Silver Coin features the Sydney Opera House against a colored background of fireworks, which is framed within a map shape of Australia. This coin carries a limit of 5,000 pieces. The 1/4 oz Gold Coin depicts the opera house and harbor. This coin carries a limit of 1,000 pieces. Each coin is housed in a map-shaped case an accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Additional new releases for this month also include:

• 2013 Year of the Snake 1 oz. Gold Proof High Relief Coin (Australia Only)
• 2013 Year of the Snake 1 oz. Colored Silver Coin – Berlin Coin Show Special
• 2013 Australian Koala 1/10 oz. Silver Coin

All of these new Perth Mint product releases should start to appear within the recent releases section on the Perth Mint’s website at the start of sales.

As a reminder, in the past some of the most popular releases have quickly changed status to “unavailable” after the initial rush of orders from US based customers. For previous months, sales have re-opened for some of these unavailable coins around 8:30 AM Perth Time (7:30 PM ET).

The Perth Mint has started accepting orders for a number of new products. The highlights for this month include a silver proof coin set to mark the 200th anniversary of the famous Holey Dollar and Dump, this year’s gilded Silver Koala, a four coin set featuring world famous city squares, and the latest release in the Australian Bush Babies II series.

For collectors in the United States, sales will begin at January 2, 2012 at 11:01 AM ET. These coins can all be found as the first entries within the recent releases section on the Perth Mint’s website.

Perth Mint product page

The new products begin with the Gilded Edition of the 2013 Australian Silver Koala. This year’s design features an adult koala sitting in the fork of a eucalyptus tree.

Each coin is struck from 1 oz of 99.9% pure silver in specimen quality and gilded in 24 karat gold. Housed in a display case and illustrated shipper with a numbered certificate of authenticity, the coins are subject to a limited worldwide mintage of 10,000 pieces. This is the same level as the prior Gilded Silver Koala releases from 2008 to 2012. The 2010, 2011, and 2012 coins still remain available for sale on the Perth Mint’s website.

Perth Mint product page

The Holey Dollar and Dump hold an important place in Australian history as the first coins struck in New South Wales. In the early 1800′s, coinage was in short supply in the fast developing colony, leaving barter had become the principle means of exchange. To remedy the situation, Governor Macquarie authorized the issue of the colony’s own currency. In 1813, the centers were punched out of 40,000 Spanish Dollars and the outer ring (Holey Dollar) and the center (Dump) were counter-stamped with the name of the colony and their new values.

The 200th Anniversary of the Australian Holey Dollar & Dump 1 oz Silver Proof Coin Set includes coins which replicate the designs of the original coins on the reverse. The obverse of each coin carries the Ian rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with the “2013″ date and legal tender denomination of “1 Dollar”.

Each coin is struck in 99.9% pure silver to proof quality. The Holey Dollar is 40.60 mm in diameter with a weight of 25.188 grams, and the Dump is 17.60 mm in diameter with a weight of 5.947 grams. Together the coins contain 1 troy ounce of silver. No more than 4,000 sets will be released worldwide.

Perth Mint product page

The Perth Mint begins a new Mythical Creatures series with the first coin depicting the Griffin, which is part eagle and part lion.

The reverse design features a color depiction of a Griffin against a background of mountains and sky. The inscriptions include “Griffin” and the denomination of “$1″.

Each coin is struck in 1 ounce of 99.9% pure silver to proof quality and issued as Tuvalu legal tender. No more than 5,000 of these coins will be released by the Perth Mint.

Perth Mint product page

The 2013 World Famous Squares 1 oz Silver Proof Four Coin Set showcases city squares from around the world on square-shaped coins. The four 99.9% silver proof coins feature aerial views of Saint Peter’s Square, Trafalgar Square, Red Square, and Tiananmen Square. The views are presented in color with the name of the square inscribed below. The obverse of each coin contains the Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with the monetary denomination and date.

The coins are issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu. Each set comes in a display case with illustrated shipper and numbered certificate of authenticity. No more than 1,000 of these sets will be issued by the Perth Mint.

Perth Mint Product page

The 2013 Forever Love 1/2 oz. Silver Proof Coin features a design with two dolphins in a heart shaped motif against a colored sunset in the background. The coins are targeted as a gift for Valentine’s Day or as a wedding gift.

Issued as Tuvalu legal tender, the coins ares struck in 1/2 ounce of 99.9% silver to proof quality. The mintage for the issue is limited to 7,500 pieces.

Perth Mint product page

The third release within the Australian Bush Babies II series features a baby Echidna. The echidna is native to Australia and has a spiky coat, long snout, short and strong limbs. The reverse design of the coin features a colored image of the animal with an insect and Australian bush flowers in the background.

Struck in 1/2 ounce of 99.9% silver to proof quality, the Perth Mint will release no more than 10,000 of the coins. Previous releases have featured the Kookaburra and Possum. Future releases will feature the Platypus and Wombat.

The Perth Mint is offering the 2013 Year of the Snake 1 oz. Gold Proof High Relief Coin. Unfortunately, this coin is listed as available in Australia Only.

The high relief design depicts a snake with bamboo on the reverse and the Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. Both are minted on concave surfaces to ensure optimum flow of metal is achieved by the strike of the die. The mintage is limited to just 388 pieces worldwide.

Additional releases for this month also include:

• 2013 Year of the Snake Stamp and Coin Cover
• 2013 Australian Six Coin Proof Set
• 2013 Australian Six Coin Uncirculated Set

All of these new Perth Mint product releases should start to appear within the recent releases section on the Perth Mint’s website at the start of sales. This post will be updated with direct product links.

As a reminder, in the past some of the most popular releases have quickly changed status to “unavailable” after the initial rush of orders from US based customers. For previous months, sales have re-opened for some of these unavailable coins around 8:30 AM Perth Time (8:30 PM ET). This provides another opportunity to order for anyone who missed the initial availability.

Within my last post on Perth Mint products, I had mentioned that the Perth Mint was working on the publication of a new mintage policy. The new policy has since been announced on their blog and published on their website.

Under the new policy, each coin will have a maximum mintage clearly stated upfront, which will reflect the total number of pieces that may be struck for release. The Perth Mint may continue to offer packaging variations, which will carry their own issue limits, however the maximum mintage will not be exceeded. Marketing, promotional, and certificate materials will clearly state the packaging issue limit and the maximum mintage.

The policy also contains a provision for coins which do not have a maximum mintage established. These will be regarded as having an unlimited mintage.

For both maximum mintage coins and unlimited mintage coins, the Perth Mint indicates that they can cease manufacture and declare a final sales figure as the declared mintage after which no further coins can be manufactured. The Perth Mint recently started declaring the mintage figures for some numismatic issues, already closing off all 1986 to 2002-dated issues. They will declare mintages for 2003 to 2011 numismatic issues that are not sold out in early 2013.

The motivation for the new policy was clearly to address recent collector concerns and remove the uncertainty surrounding the absolute number of coins that may be issued across multiple packaging options. The last round of product releases from the Perth Mint on November 1 seemed to garner less excitement from collectors, as it occurred in the midst of the controversy about “mintages”. The next release date will occur on January 3.

Australian Lunar Series II 2 oz Silver Proof Coin Collection

Some readers have pointed out that the previously unavailable Lunar Series II 2 oz Silver Proof Coin Collection is once again available for sale on the Perth Mint’s website. See product page.

This collection includes the first six designs of the Australian Lunar Series II with 2 oz. Silver Proof Coins for the Year of the Mouse (2008), Ox (2009), Tiger (2010), Rabbit (2011), Dragon (2012), and Snake (2013). Each of the coins was previously released within a Three Coin Proof Set, which was limited to 1,000 units. The newly offered collection carries a limit of 1,000 units.

A question on the Perth Mint Blog asked about the maximum allowable mintage for Lunar Series II 2 oz. Silver Proof Coins. The Perth Mint response stated, “This coin was originally issued prior to the new Mintage Policy which calls for the maximum mintage to be stated upfront. Having said that, I do not foresee this coin being included in any packaging variation other than the existing Three-Coin Set (1,000) and 12-Coin Collection (1,000).”

The Perth Mint recently began accepting website orders for two coin show specials issued for the Beijing International Coin Exposition. The 1 oz. silver coins feature colored depictions of the Australian Kookaburra and Kangaroo.

Each coin features a colored depiction of the iconic Australian animals on the reverse with the Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. The coins come in 2012 Beijing International Coin Exposition packaging, which consists of a vibrantly colored slide out display card and outer shipper. The Perth Mint indicates that no more than 5,000 of this coin will be released in the special packaging. Product pages can be found here and here.

In August, the Perth Mint released a 2012 Koala 1 oz. Silver Colored Coin for the ANA Coin Show. Together the three coins form the trio of Koala, Kookaburra, and Kangaroo that have sometimes been marketed together.  The Perth Mint did release a three coin set featuring the same colored designs, used on 1/2 oz. silver coins.

I placed a question on the Perth Mint Blog as to whether the 1 oz. Silver Colored 2012 Koala, Kookaburra, and Kangaroo might be issued within any other products, or if they would only be issued as show specials. So far, they have not provided a response.

Earlier show specials featuring different colored versions of the 2012 Year of the Dragon 1 oz. Silver Coins were released within other sets.

Perth Mint on Mintages

Following weeks of critical comments and debate surrounding the Perth Mint’s interpretation of “mintages,” the Perth Mint has announced that they are working towards the publication of a new mintage policy.

The new policy would seem to remove the ambiguity surrounding the total number of coins that can be issued. In the past, the Perth Mint has used the term “mintage” to basically refer to the number of coins that may be issued within a certain type of packaging. Beyond this amount, there was also a total mintage authorized by Treasury, which left the door open to issue additional coins in different packaging.

Under their new policy, the Perth Mint will dispense with the concept of “packaging mintages” and use the term mintage to refer to the maximum number of pieces of struck metal. Every coin will now have its maximum mintage plainly stated. Read their full blog post here.

The Perth Mint has just started accepting orders for a variety of new products. The new releases include both 2012 Year of the Dragon and 2013 Year of the Snake coins, the fourth release in the Dragons of Legend series, the first release of a new series featuring the four seasons, the second release within the Australian birds series, and many others.

For collectors in the United States, sales will begin as of October 31, 2012 at 12:01 PM ET. These coins can all be found as the first entries within the recent releases section on the Perth Mint’s website.

Perth Mint Product Page

The 2012 High Relief Silver Proof Four Coin Collection includes four high relief designs featuring the Kangaroo, Koala, Kookaburra, and Year of the Dragon. As discussed in the previous post, each of these coins has been released individually, but will make another appearance together within this set.

Both the obverse and reverse of each coin are minted on concave surfaces to ensure optimum metal flow is achieved by the strike of the die. The high relief design struck in proof quality makes for an impressive rendition of each design.

The sets are limited to 1,000 worldwide. Each is housed in a display case with illustrated shipper and numbered certificate of authenticity.

Perth Mint product page

The Australian Lunar Series II 2 oz. Silver Proof Coin Collection is also available. Each set contains the first six coins of the 12-coin collection. These features the Year of hte Mouse (2008), Ox (2009, Tiger (2010), Rabbit (2011), Dragon (2012), and Snake (2013). Each of these coins was previously released within a three coin proof set for each year.

The coin are presented in a display case with allocated spaces for the future annual releases. According to the product page, “The Perth Mint guarantees the availability of the forthcoming 2 oz silver lunar designs between 2014 and 2019.”

Perth Mint product page

The fourth release within the Dragons of Legend series features the Bulgarian Three Headed Dragon. The reverse design is based on an original illustration by Howard David Johnson with the dramatic portrait of the three-headed dragon against a mountainous scene. Each coin is struck in one ounce of 99.9% silver to proof quality. A product limit of 5,000 coins is indicated.

Previous releases of the series have featured the Red Welsh Dragon, Chinese Dragon, and St. George and the Dragon. The final release will feature the European Green Dragon.

Perth Mint product page

A colored proof one-half ounce 2013 Year of the Snake Silver Coin is available. This joins a one ounce colored proof coin released last month. The one-half ounce size features the same design of a black and yellow colored snake curled around a tree branch. There is a limit of 10,000 for this product.

Perth Mint product page

Colored editions of the 2013 Year of the Snake Gold Coins are available in three different sizes. Individual one ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce colored 99.99% pure gold coins are available. Each coin is struck to proof quality and features a colored image of a snake among bamboo shoots. Each size is sold individually and carries a product limit of 5,000.

Perth Mint product page

A Lunar Calendar Series 1 oz. Silver Rectangle Four Coin Set features four unique snake designs. The rectangle coins are Cook Islands legal tender and minted in 1 oz. of 99.9% pure silver in proof quality. Measuring 47.60 mm by 27.60 mm, the coins each feature a colored snake set against a background depicting an Eastern scene. The four coin sets are limited to 3,000 worldwide and come housed in a black framed clear case packaged in an illustrated shipper.

Perth Mint product page

A final product celebrating the Year of the Snake is the Tuvalu legal tender Cute Baby Snake Coin. Struck in one-half ounce of 99.9% silver to proof quality, the reverse design depicts a baby snake with a festive wreath and decorations. Each coin is housed in an illustrated shipper and accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity. The product has a limit of 7,500 worldwide.

Perth Mint product page

The second release within the Australian Birds series is available. The one-half ounce 99.9% silver coin features the Budgerigar in color amidst representations of Australian vegetation. This product has a limit of 10,000 worldwide and comes in a presentation case with themed shipper and numbered certificate of authenticity.

The first release in the series featured the Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo and still remains available for sale. Subsequent releases within the series Regent Bowerbird, Rainbow Lorikeet, Splendid Fairy-wren.

Perth Mint product page

The Perth mint will begin a new series highlighting the beauty of Australia’s seasons. The first of the square-shaped one ounce 99.9% silver coins features summer, which takes place during the months of December, January, and February. The reverse design features a Red Kangaroo against a colored background of an Australian beach scene. With a worldwide product limit of 5,000, each coin is housed in a presentation case with themed shipper and accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Subsequent releases within the series will features the seasons Spring, Winter, and Autumn.

Two of this month’s releases are listed as available in Australia only. The first is the 1 oz. Gold Proof High Relief Year of the Dragon Coin shown above. The mintage for the product is indicated to be 388 worldwide. The obverse and reverse designs are minted on concave surfaces resulting in a maximum thickness of 5.00 mm and diameter of 27.30 mm.

Also within Australia only, the Perth Mint is issuing a colored edition of the 2013 Year of the Snake Kilo Silver Coin. This product has an indicated limit of 500 worldwide. The design is the same as the other colored editions, the size is 100.60 mm in diameter and 14.60 mm in thickness.

Additional releases for the month also include:

• 2013 Australian Citizenship $1 Coin
• 2012 Christmas Stamp & Coin Cover

All of these new Perth Mint product releases should start to appear within the recent releases section on the Perth Mint’s website at the start of sales. This post will be updated with direct product links.

As a reminder, in the past some of the most popular releases have quickly changed status to “unavailable” after the initial rush of orders from US based customers. For previous months, sales have re-opened for some of these unavailable coins around 8:30 AM Perth Time (8:30 PM ET). This provides another opportunity to order for anyone who missed the initial availability.