Royal Australian Mint Issues New Investment Coins Featuring Dolphin, Southern Skies

Fraser’s Dolphin Gold and Silver Investment Coins

These coins are the third installment in the Royal Australian Mint’s ‘Australian Dolphin Series’ and feature the Fraser’s Dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei), discovered by Francis Fraser in 1956. Complete with a Brilliant Uncirculated finish, both the gold coin and the silver coin’s reverse depicts two Fraser Dolphins as designed by Aleksandra Stokic. Both coins’ obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II designed by Jody Clark.

History and Significance

The Fraser’s Dolphin was only officially discovered in 1956 after Francis Fraser identified the species from a mislabelled skeleton in the British Museum. Distinguishable by its cream and black flank stripes, the Fraser’s Dolphin is stocky in shape with a short beak and small dorsal fins, flippers, and flukes. Males can reach up to 2.7 meters long and weigh more than 200 kilograms.

Social in nature, Fraser’s Dolphins have been known to travel in pods of up to 1,000 and swim in a high-spirited fashion, creating lots of surface splashes. These dolphins also mix with other species of dolphins and even whales. Found in tropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Fraser’s Dolphin dives deep for its food, reaching depths of up to 500 meters. With a diet of mostly fish, this dolphin also fuels itself with squid and crustaceans. While the Fraser Dolphin is still hunted by some countries, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists its conservation status as ‘least concern’.

Coin Specifications

Beneath the Southern Skies Investment Coins

The Royal Australian Mint is proud to present the 2021 $100 1oz Gold Investment Coin and 2021 $1 1oz Silver Investment Coin as the latest release in the Beneath the Southern Skies series.

Quintessentially Australian, the design pays homage to Stuart Devlin, who designed Australia’s first decimal coinage, and features a platypus in Sydney’s position on a map of Australia.

History and Significance

Following the series’ first release in 2020, the 2021 $100 1oz Gold Investment Coin and 2021 $1 1oz Silver Investment Coin design is quintessentially Australian and includes a map of Australia and the Southern Cross, inspired by one of Stuart Devlin’s original sketches. The coins also feature New South Wales’ animal emblem, the platypus, in place of Sydney.

Devlin, commonly regarded as the father of Australia’s modern currency, designed Australia’s first decimal coinage and these coins reimagine one of Devlin’s original sketches from more than 50 years ago.

The gold and silver investment pieces also pay tribute to the Royal Australian Mint’s award-winning Southern and Northern Sky series, while the silver coin is the first and only 99.99% pure silver coin produced by the Mint. Part of an ongoing series, these coins will be coveted by domestic and international collectors alike.

Coin Specifications