The Royal Australian Mint has recently issued two coins to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Australia’s Parliament House. These include a triangular silver proof coin and 20c uncirculated coin.

The 2013 $5 fine silver proof coin is touted as Australia’s first ever triangular coin. The coin’s design, which features the triangular spire of the building topped by the Australian flag, is particularly well suited to the unorthodox coin shape. The inscriptions are aligned to each side of the triangle and read “25th Anniversary of/ Parliament House” and “5 Dollars”.

The obverse contains the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with the “2013″ date.

Struck in 99.9% silver, this coin has a weight of 22.23 grams and an indicated diameter of 33.90 mm. The mintage limit is 10,000 pieces.

A copper-nickel 20-cent coin is also available, which shows a wider view of the Parliament House. This coin has a weight of 11.30 grams, diameter of 28.52 mm, and unlimited mintage.

Both coins are available on the RAM website here and here.

The Royal Australian Mint has recently released several coins that I have felt had well executed or captivating designs. I have particularly liked the 2013 Australian Mining 20 cent coin, which presents a partial view of a massive modern mining machine. I also liked the Centenary of Canberra 20 cent coin, which contains an image of the original blueprint for the city.

The Royal Australian Mint has collaborated with eh Real Casa de la Moneda (Royal Spanish Mint) to create an intriguing products to mark the 200th anniversary of the Holey Dollar and Dump.

The original Holey Dollar and Dump were created in response to a shortage of circulating coinage in the colony in the early 1800′s. After 40,000 Spanish eight reale coins were shipped to Australia in 1812, Governor Lachlan Macquarie had convicted forger William Henshall punch the centers out of each coin and counterstamp them. The outer rings had a value of five shillings and the centers had a value of 15 pence.

The origin of these famous coins makes the collaboration with the Spanish Mint particularly fitting for the special coin set.

Each set includes a reproduction of the obverse design of the eight reale coin produced by the Spanish Mint. This coin features a special “C” privy mark to symbolize the special release. The coin carries a value of 10 euros and is struck in 92.5% silver with a diameter of 40 mm and weight of 27 grams.

The two Australian coins included in the set feature reproductions of the designs of the Holey Dollar and Dump. These coins carry legal tender values of $1 and 25 cents. The $1 coin is struck in 99.9% silver with a diameter of 40 mm and weight of 18.65 grams. The 25 cent coin is struck in 99.9% silver with a diameter of 19 mm and weight of 5.80 grams.

All three coins in the set are struck in proof quality with an indicated mintage of 5,000. Sales are available through the Royal Australian Mint’s eShop as well as through many world coin dealers.

Earlier this year, the Royal Australian Mint collaborated with the Mint of Poland to create a special Kangaroo coin set that seems to have been well received by collectors.

The Royal Australian Mint has recently unveiled new kangaroo themed gold and silver coins with a unique twist. The reverse designs present an artist’s impression of the kangaroo road sign, which is frequently seen on Australian roads and highways to warns drivers to watch out for kangaroos.

The coin design features a more detailed depiction of the kangaroo than actually appears on road signs, which have a plain silhouette of the animal. An inscription indicates the precious metal weight and purity. The sign is framed within an octagonal shaped border with five stars appearing at the upper right. The design was created by Wojciech Pietranik before his retirement from the Royal Australian Mint.

The obverse contains the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II with the “2013″ date and legal tender face value. This is also framed within an octagonal shaped border.

The 2013 Kangaroo Road Sign Silver Coins are available in one ounce size with a mintage of 40,000, five ounce size with a mintage of 5,000, and kilo sized with a mintage limit of 1,500.

Gold versions with the same design are also available. These come in one ounce size with a mintage of 5,000, five ounce size with a mintage of 500, and kilo sized with a mintage limit of 100.

The one ounce and five ounce silver coins and the one ounce gold coins are listed as coming soon in the Royal Australian Mint’s eshop New Releases section.

Descriptions indicate that this represents the first release within a new precious metal “Australian Road Signs” series. I found some information indicating that this will be a five year series, but have not encountered anything on the nature of the designs for upcoming years. Will the coins present alternate renditions of the kangaroo sign, or perhaps other animal street signs from the country such as these?

The Royal Australian Mint has recently launched two new coins to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. A 20 cent coin will be released into circulation, and a $5 silver proof coins is offered to collectors.

The Centenary of Canberra 20 Cent coin features the original blueprint for the city, as designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Here is a look at the original plan that I found.

A coin swap will be offered in Australia in the coming week, and the coin can be expected to be seen in circulation in the coming months.

The 2013 Centenary of Canberra $5 Silver Proof Coin features an interesting split image design. The upper portion features a skyline of the city as it appears in the present day with the anniversary dates “1913-2013″. At center is the inscription “Centenary of Canberra” with a division line separating a reflection of the inscription. The bottom portion of the coin features an image of what the city would have looked like 100 years ago, as if shown in reflection.

The coins are struck in 99.9% pure silver to proof quality, with a weight of 36.31 grams and diameter of 38.74 mm. The mintage is limited to 5,000 pieces. The product page of the RAM website can be found here.

Perth Mint Releases

Separately, the Perth Mint of Australia has recently started accepting orders for some new products, which will be followed a larger group of monthly releases tomorrow.

The Chinese Astrological series 2013 Year of the Snake 1/5 oz. Gold Coins are already available. These coins feature reverse designs with a snake motif representing the Chinese characters for “Shou”, “Lu”, and “Fu”, which mean “Longevity”, “Success”, and “Prosperity”.

Each coin is struck in 1/5 oz. of 99.99% pure gold and issued as Tuvalu legal tender. A three coin set is available which is limited to 2,000 units, and the “Prosperity” coin is available individually with a limit of 2,000 units.

Here are the product pages for the three coin set and the individual coin.

Sales have also started for the 2013 Ludwig Leichhardt 2 oz Silver Proof Coin. The Prussian-born explorer and naturalist is honored for his expeditions of discovery within Australia.

The design of the coin features a portrait of Ludwig Leichhardt with a map of northeast Australia in the background including a red line tracing the route of his most famous expedition. The coin is struck in 2 oz. of 99.9% silver to proof quality with a diameter of 55.60 mm. The mintage limit is 2,013 pieces.

The Perth Mint product page can be found here.

An additional batch of products will go on sale tomorrow starting on January 31, 2013 at 11:01 AM ET for collectors in the United States. The new products will include a 2013 Year of the Snake 5 oz Silver Proof Coin, the first releases of the new “Land Down Under” series, Queen Elizabeth II 60th Anniversary of Coronation coins, the latest releases from the Dragons of Legend and Australian Seasons series, and more.

Once available, these coins will start to appear in the recent releases section of the Perth Mint website. I will also have a full post on the new releases shortly following the start of sales.