Gold Kilo 2016 Australian Kangaroo - Red Diamond Edition, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The Australian one kilo gold piece (abbreviated as 1 kg and designated with Au for "gold") is a bullion coin format. 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 to introduce new designs and themes often, in order to raise the numismatic value of the coins over the value of previous metal used.

This unique one-kilogram gold coin with a diamond named The Kimberley Treasure is part of the long-running Australian Kangaroo bullion coin series by the Perth Mint, and is a special edition celebrating its "definitive" design embellished by an ultra-rare 0.54-carat red diamond sourced in Western Australia.

The Perth Mint’s red kangaroo design was introduced as part of the Australian Nugget gold coin program as the new theme for the 1989 Proof Issue. The artistry was designed by Dr Stuart Devlin AO CMG, goldsmith and jeweller to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The coin was released with a price tag of AU$ 1 mln (one million Australian dollars); the premium price is based primarily on its exclusivity and the fact that natural red diamonds are the rarest of all fancy-colored diamonds. The diamond set in the "The Kimberley Treasure" was unearthed at Rio Tinto’s Argyle Diamond Mine in the east Kimberley region - one of the few mines in the world that produces red diamonds. Rio Tinto reports that its average annual output of red diamonds is barely 1 carat.

The coin was revealed by the Premier of Western Australia, the Honourable Colin Barnett, on 12 July 2016 (the Perth Mint is owned by the state of Western Australia).