The Silver Kookaburra from Australia has attracted more attention recently due to its 25th anniversary – in other words, this silver coin is celebrating its silver anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, the Perth Mint has released a special edition proof for 2015. This commemorative coin contains one ounce of 99.99 percent pure silver. It’s also struck in high relief, comes with a special certificate and packaging, and is limited to a run of only 8,000 coins. The reverse of the coin features an adult kookaburra, an Australian bird, sitting in a eucalyptus tree. As with all Australian coins, the obverse features Queen Elizabeth II.
Perth began minting the Silver Kookaburra in 1990. While the obverse sign always bears the Queen’s profile, the reverse side features a yearly changing image of the kookaburra. This variety may attract collectors who appreciate beautiful and unique bullion coins. The Mint does limit the production of the regular-strike one-ounce coins, but they don’t always limit the production of other coin weights. For example, the Perth Mint announced that they would limit production of one-ounce coins to 500,000 in 2013 and for all years going forward. They made the announcement in April of 2013, and by that time, they said that they had already sold 480,000 and only had 20,000 of the yearly quota left to produce.
All Silver Kookaburra coins are made of 99.99 fine silver.
Kookaburra silver coins really are legal tender in Australia. However, the face value is only nominal, while the value of the coin’s precious metal is usually higher. The average market price for these coins tends to drop a bit over time. People who really like these coins and want to collect them may be happy to purchase them new for a bit over spot. Yet, more frugal collectors and investors might do better to look for deals on older examples of these coins that have found their way into the market. In any case, Australian Kookaburra silver coins are eligible for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) in the US.