Australia Kookaburra

The Silver Kookaburra is a silver bullion coin originating from Australia, and produced at the Perth Mint starting in 1990. The coins were .999 FS 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. They are minted in four sizes; 1000g, 10, 2 and 1 troy ounces.

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 also available.

Silver Bullion Mintage

Design

Obverse:  The design has changed throughout the series, but Queen Elizabeth II is at the center surrounded by an inscription bearing her name, the name of the issuing country "Australia", the year, and the face value of the coin "1 Dollar."

Reverse: The motif is a kookaburra in its native habitat. The inscription  has also changed locations throughout the series.  Early on it was at the bottom, but currently "Australian Kookaburra " is inscribed at the top while the metal content, and purity are inscribed below the motif.