Silver Ounce 2015 Kangaroo, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The Australian one ounce silver piece (abbreviated as 1 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.

The Australian Silver Kangaroo coin range was introduced in 1993 by the Royal Australian Mint; subsequently, the Perth Mint also started issuing Kangaroo bullion coins. The coins have legal tender status in Australia and are one of few legal tender bullion silver coins to change their design every year. This and their limited annual mintage may, unlike for many other bullion coins, raise their numismatic value over the value of silver used.

This coin is part of a long-running series by the Royal Australian Mint depicting the Australian national animal - the kangaroo.

The design is the third and final release in the Explorers' First Sightings mini series, and is based on a hand coloured engraving by Vincent Woodthorpe’s hand-coloured engraving as featured in "A Voyage to Botany Bay".

Before they captured the hearts of generations of Australians, kangaroos caught the attention of early explorers. These curious creatures were depicted in words and artworks which seem inaccurate today, but are filled with the beauty of these animals capturing people’s imaginations.

Vincent Woodthorpe’s hand-coloured engraving was published in George Barrington’s "A Voyage to Botany Bay", where he described kangaroos as, "about the size of a common deer, of a dark tan colour... its hind legs are much longer than the fore, and with them they leap and spring forward with amazing rapidity.”