The Australian two ounces silver piece (abbreviated as 2 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 mint says about this coin: Crafted from 2oz of 99.99% pure silver, we’re thrilled to present this incredible antiqued coloured coin portraying an original painting of a yongka (kangaroo) designed by Indigenous artist, Kevin Bynder.
A proud Whadjuk-Yuet-Ballardong man, Kevin Bynder is a passionate artist and teacher whose diverse portfolio of vibrant and striking works includes many Indigenous guernsey and shirt designs for high-profile sporting franchises, as well as murals in both public and private spaces in and around Perth. Kevin’s works are inspired by Western Australia’s natural environment and reflect the history and knowledge of his people who have lived on Nyoongar country for tens of thousands of years.
Aboriginal people have honoured kangaroos in art for millennia. Australia’s oldest known rock art is a 17,000-year-old painting of a kangaroo in the north-west Kimberley region. Continuing the tradition, proud Whadjuk-Yuet-Ballardong artist Kevin Bynder’s second coin design for The Perth Mint is from an original coloured painting of a kangaroo in his native Western Australia. |