Royal Australian Mint Issues Mini Koala $2 Half Gram Gold Coin

By Royal Australian Mint ……
The Mini Koala – 2021 $2 half gram gold Frosted Uncirculated coin features one of Australia’s most recognizable and distinctive marsupials, the koala. Koalas inhabit coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia and live mostly on eucalypt leaves. Disease and loss of habitat have reduced populations and koalas are now classed as vulnerable.

When Europeans first settled Australia, they marveled at the unusual native animals they encountered, among them the koala, which they often and incorrectly described as a bear. The koala was of course well known to indigenous people who hunted them for food. Hunting for skins for export in the 19th and early 20th centuries led to serious population decreases and prompted perhaps Australia’s first large-scale environmental response. The species is now protected, though they are by no means abundant and are classed as vulnerable. The shy gentle koala is beloved of Australians, featured in such classic stories as The Adventures of Blinky Bill.

The koala is a fitting subject for the first of the Royal Australian Mint’s Mini Money series of gold coins featuring iconic native animals.

The koala features on the Royal Australian Mint’s Mini Money series of gold coins depicting iconic native animals. This is a $2 coin containing a half gram of 99.99 percent gold, packaged in an attractive presentation capsule. Production is limited to just 5,000 units. The coin is legal tender and features Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on one side and, on the reverse, a koala seated on a branch among the gum leaves somewhere in the Australian bush. This is an affordable product for someone interested in collecting gold coins and Australia’s distinctive wildlife.

Designer(s)

Adam W. Ball is a coin designer at the Royal Australian Mint. He designed the koala on the reverse of the Mini Koala – 2021 $2 half gram gold Frosted Uncirculated coin.

Designer and engraver Jody Clark joined the Royal Mint UK in 2012. His portrait of Queen Elizabeth II became the fifth official portrait in 2015 (View Designer’s Profile).

Coin Specifications