It’s a new release year, and it’s time for a brand-new map-shaped coin from Australia’s Perth Mint. Well known for a variety of wildlife-inspired coin designs, the Perth Mint’s map-shaped coins are perhaps the most interesting products available. Released in pairs of two each year, these coins feature native species to the continent on coins that mix pure silver, colorized finishes, and coin strikings on blanks shaped like the Australian continent. Now, the 2016 1 oz Silver Australian Great White Shark coin is available on Silver.com.
Coin Highlights:
- Worldwide mintage capped at just 6,000 coins!
- First release of 2016 and ninth overall in the Map-Shaped series.
- Innovated map-shaped design!
- Coins ship to you in presentation case and include Certificate of Authenticity.
- Consists of one troy ounce of .999 fine silver.
- Issued a face value of $1 (AUD) by the Australian government.
- Features the colorized Great White Shark design on the reverse.
- Queen Elizabeth II’s right-profile portrait on the obverse.
The Map-Shaped series of coins from the Perth Mint launched in 2012 with Kookaburra design. The series consists of two new releases each year, and all coins have a horizontal stripe of colorization on the reverse design that brings the representative creature to life.
Following the Kookaburra release in 2012 was the Emu, with the Kangaroo and Platypus in 2013, Koala and Saltwater Crocodile in 2014, and the Wedge-tailed Eagle and Redback Spider in 2015. The first four coins from the series are completely sold out, with the 2014 Koala nearly sold out as well.
On the reverse of the coin you’ll find the brilliant aqua hues of the Pacific Ocean as the backdrop for the Great White shark design. The ocean’s ultimate predator is shown swimming past a sunken boat, with a school of fish visible near the water’s surface where the sun’s rays penetrate the ocean.
The obverse features the right-profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from Ian Rank-Broadley. This 1998 depiction of Her Majesty continues as the preferred profile portrait on Australian coins, and includes engravings of Her Majesty’s name, the nation of issue, year of issue, and face value of the coin.
If you have any questions about this or other Perth Mint products, don’t hesitate to ask. A Silver.com associate is available on the phone at 888-989-7223, online using our live chat, or via email address.
