Today's featured coin is the 2012 Australian Koala coin struck by The Perth Mint. This coin is a 1oz Fine Silver Proof High Relief quality coin.

If you read my Sneak Peek post written on 15 May 2021: Sneak Peek - Coin Reveal, you will recognise the outer box of this coin as it was mentioned in that previous post.

Contents

Each Coin Reveal post as part of my Sneak Peek series features a special collector coin that I currently own in my stack or one that I would love to own one day. The focus of today's post is the 2012 Australian Koala 1oz Fine Silver Proof High Relief coin.

The contents of each post will follow the same format and cover the five topics listed below.

1. Coin Story
2. Coin Packaging
3. Coin Details
4. Coin Design
6. Coin Protection

1. Coin Story

Australian Koalas tend to spend about twenty hours of their day sleeping. For the remaining four to five hours of the day they eat, move to new locations and occasionally mate. It is quite common for large carnivores, like a lion, to sleep between sixteen to eighteen hours per day, but it is very unusual for herbivores or marsupials.

There main reason that koalas spend such a large portion of their day sleeping is due to their diet which consists of eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are low in calories and difficult to digest, so koalas sleep so they can maintain a very slow metabolism rate in order to conserve their body energy.

Most of the time when you spot a koala in a tree it will be sleeping, so if you do see a koala feeding or walking count yourself very lucky as it does not happen much during the day.

source freepik.com

2. Coin Packaging

The blue outer box portrays a photo of a mother and baby koala clinging onto a eucalyptus branch. There is white text at the top of the outer case, '2012 HIGH RELIEF KOALA' and 'SILVER COIN'.

Each 1oz Silver coin comes with an accompanying coin certificate, below is an excerpt from the certificate:

Certificate of Authenticity

This certificate accompanies a 1oz high relief Australian Koala coin, struck by The Perth Mint from 99.9% pure silver in proof quality. The coin is issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.

The 1oz Silver proof coin is housed inside a dark grey clam shell case with The Perth Mint Swan Logo indented in the bottom left corner. The inside of the lid displays The Perth Mint Swan Logo in gold print with the words 'THE PERTH MINT AUSTRALIA' in gold text.

3. Coin Details

a. Mintage

The maximum mintage of the 2012 Australian Koala coin was limited at 10,000 coins. The coin was issued as legal tender under the authority of Australia with a denomination of one dollar.

b. Purity

The 2012 coin has a purity of .999 fine silver.

c. Details

Mint/Brand:	The Perth Mint
Purity:	.999 Fine Silver
Denomination:	$1 (Australian)
Year of Issue:	2012
Edge:	Milled
Silver Content:	1oz
Weight:	31.135g
Diameter:	32.60mm
Thickness:	6.00mm
Maximum Mintage:	10,000

4. Coin Design

a. Reverse Design

The reverse of the coin depicts an adult koala fast asleep on a tree branch.

The design includes an inscription of 'AUSTRALIAN KOALA', with the year '2012', the weight '1oz' and the purity '999 SILVER'.

b. Obverse Design

The obverse of the coin portrays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the words 'ELIZABETH II', 'AUSTRALIA' and the denomination of '1 DOLLAR'.

5. Coin Protection

Each 1oz Fine Silver coin is stored in an original mint plastic capsule. It is highly recommended that you keep your silver proof coins in their capsules, to protect them from tarnish, or scratches on the coin that could result from handling the coin.

When handling your silver coin, for extra protection use a pair of cotton gloves. Cotton gloves protect your coins from oils in your fingers that may cause discoloration, damaging the finish of the coin. I have formed the habit to use cotton gloves even when I am handling coins in their plastic capsules.

source APMEX

Post authored by @strenue