Last updated on June 13th, 2018 at 11:05 am

Last Updated on June 13, 2018 Posted by Colonial Acres Coins

As the official bullion mint of Australia, the Perth Mint is a facility owned by the Government of Western Australia, having been established in 1899. The Perth Mint was established before the Federation of Australia in 1901 and is the oldest of the two mints that issue coins for legal tender in Australia. If you are a coin collector, you have most likely seen or even collected items that were minted by the Perth Mint. As a collector, it can be fun to learn more about the Australian mint, especially if you want to sell Perth Mint items. Read on to see how the mint was started and what services they offer today.

The Beginning

Sir John Forrest laid the foundation in 1896 and the mint would eventually open in June of 1899. The population of Australia was growing at this time and this was due to the gold deposits found in such areas as Murchison, Coolgardie, and Kalgoorlie. Perth had little money so miners would use gold to exchange for goods. Diggers rushed to the area to mine and would deposit raw gold in the Perth Mint. The Mint would then use the gold to create gold coins.

Interestingly enough, the Federation of Australia took place in 1901, the Perth Mint would be controlled by Great Britain until July 1st, 1970. At this time, the mint would be controlled by the Western Australian Government.

The Perth Mint would change direction in 1987 when the State Act of Parliament would create the Gold Corporation. A new agreement was formed between the Department of Treasury within the Commonwealth of Australia and the mint which allowed the new operator to mint/market legal tender for Australia in platinum, silver and gold to collectors as well as investors around the world.

By 2003, the Mint opened an updated manufacturing facility next to the original building. Located in the heritage precinct, the two buildings are symbols of minting quality for over 100 years in Australia.

Another interesting fact about the Mint is that they created the most valuable coin of gold, also the heaviest and largest ever minted in 2011. The coin broke a record that the Royal Canadian Mint previously held. The Perth Mint record-breaking coin was 31 inches in diameter, with 4.7 inches in thickness. The coin was constructed of pure gold (99.9%) and weighed 2,231 pounds. The coin included an image of Elizabeth II on the obverse side and the reverse featured a red kangaroo. The face value of the coin is one million dollars.

Today, the Perth Mint focuses on refining as well as other services in the industry. The Perth Mint also manufactures numismatic pieces for coin collectors and investors. They manufacture and market the majority of the legal tender for Australia including precious metal coins such as the Nugget gold coins, bullion and more.

If you have coins minted by the Perth Mint, they certainly have value. Learn more about your collection by having your items appraised by Colonial Acres.