Silver Two Kilos 2021 Great Barrier Reef, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The Australian two kilos silver piece (abbreviated as 2 kg and designated with Ag for "silver") is a very large 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.

The Mint says about this coin:
"This magnificent 2 kilo silver coin celebrates one of the natural wonders of the world - the Great Barrier Reef - with a stunning high relief design symbolising its unique importance to thousands of different marine species.

Stretching more than 2,300 kilometres along Australia’s Queensland coast, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s most extensive coral reef ecosystem. Comprising more than 2,500 reefs and over 900 islands, it supports extraordinary biodiversity, including 600 species of coral, more than 1,500 types of fish and thousands of different molluscs. It is also home to dugongs, whales, dolphins, sharks, rays and six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle.

In a nod towards the Reef’s extraordinary age, estimated at over 500,000 years, the coin surface is antiqued, a treatment that tones the natural lustre of silver before it is individually hand finished to mimic the unique characteristics often seen on an ancient artefact."