Silver Ounce 2023 Australian Kookaburra, Memorial Obverse, 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 Kookaburra series - to which this coin belongs - was introduced in 1990 by the Perth Mint; subsequently, the Royal Australian Mint also started issuing silver Kookaburra bullion coins. The coins have legal tender status in Australia and are one of very few legal tender bullion silver coins to change their design every year, always featuring a kookaburra - a bird native to Australia. This and their limited annual mintage may, unlike for many other bullion coins, raise their numismatic value over the value of silver used.

The 34th annual Kookaburra design portrays two birds perched on branches surrounding waratah, a native floral treasure.

Starting in 2019, the Perth Mint has a tradition of issuing special coloured editions of the annual Kookaburra design for the World Money Fair in Berlin. Usually it can be considered a variety of the bullion coin, but the 2023 World Money Fair special edition (for the event which took place 3 - 5 February 2023) was made different from the bullion coin - it has the Queen Elizabeth II memorial obverse.

The coin was issued during the reign of King Charles III; however, as his effigy was not expected to be approved for use in Australia until late in the year, the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II is shown together with the dates of her reign, 1952 - 2022. The same memorial obverse was then also used for other varieties of the coin issued later.