The Australian gold half gram coin is a mini-coin format occasionally used to complement issues in larger sizes. Uniquely, in Australia there are two mints authorised to strike legal tender: the Royal Australian Mint (which also makes the country's circulating coinage) and the Perth Mint which only makes collector and bullion coins, as well as other bullion products.
Both mints endeavour to create coins with attractive designs, and have long-running bullion series of coins with different themes. As part of these, they sometimes issue a mini-version of the theme's annual design.
The gold Mini Emu is the thid issue in a Royal Australian Mint series dedicated to the native animals of Australia.
The Mint says about it: Among our distinctive wildlife, the Emu is perhaps second only to the kangaroo as most recognisably Australian, found across much of the country and displayed on the historic Coat of Arms.
Towering to nearly two metres, Australia’s flightless bird, the Emu, ranks in size second only to the African Ostrich. Indigenous people dined on Emus and their eggs. Emus are found across Australia but are less common along the populated East Coast.
Their relationship with farmers hasn’t always been congenial and in 1932, wheat growers in Western Australia called in the Army to deal with Emu mobs threatening their crops. Soldiers armed with machine-guns inflicted not that many casualties in what is now referred to as the Emu War.
Other than dingoes, grown Emus have no natural predators and habitat loss hasn’t markedly impacted numbers. Consequently Emus are classed as a least-concern species. |