Silver Five Ounces 2021 Redback Spider, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The Australian five ounces silver piece (abbreviated as 5 oz and designated with Ag for "silver") is a bullion and commemorative 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.

The 2021 Redback Spider five-ounce silver bullion coin is the first release in a new series titled Australia's Most Dangerous; the coins are issued by the Royal Australian Mint in collaboration with LPM (Hong Kong) which is their exclusive distributor; they are in Brilliant Uncirculated grade.

Loved for its beauty and feared for its venom, the Redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti) can be found throughout Australia. They are especially common living among humans, where they build their webs in dark places in our homes and gardens. Redbacks are identified by the red stripe on their upper abdomen, and a distinctive hourglass-shaped spot on the underside of the abdomen. Redbacks build distinctive webs that look deceptively messy, but are magnificently engineered to catch the small invertebrates and animals.

Although Redbacks are feared for their venomous bite, Australia has had an anti-venom since 1956, with no human fatalities recorded since then. Redbacks are not generally aggressive spiders, and most bites happen by accident. Nevertheless, the tendency of Redbacks to lurk in human homes and bite the unsuspecting has been immortalised in song and poetry in Australia. In spite of their reputation, Redbacks do have an important role to play in Australia’s biodiversity, both as insect predators and as prey.