The Australian Nugget was the first legal tender gold coin program to be manufactured by The Perth Mint since the cessation of sovereign production in 1931. Debuting in 1986, the coins were struck in four denominations with artistic representations celebrating historic Australian natural gold nuggets by world-renowned Australian goldsmith and numismatic designer Stuart Devlin.
Each coin in the set features an artistic representation of either the Welcome Stranger (1oz), Hand of Faith (1/2oz), Golden Eagle (1/4oz) and Little Hero (1/10oz) nugget. The portrayal of each nugget is surrounded by a circular area gilded in rose gold. Containing the number ‘35’ and the nugget’s name and year of discovery, this area also encompasses a ring of symbolic sun rays and The Perth Mint’s ’ mintmark.
The coins are struck by The Perth Mint from 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and 1/10oz of 99.99% pure gold in proof quality and issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965. Surrounding each central design is the inscription THE AUSTRALIAN NUGGET, the coin’s weight and the 2021 year-date. |