A Bullion Bird

The Perth Mint continues its popular bullion program with its latest release of gold and silver coins featuring the Australian emu. The emu is a large, flightless bird endemic to Australia. Not to be confused with the ostrich, the emu is slightly smaller, has coarse brown feathers, and can run at speeds up to 30 miles per hour, compared to the ostrich’s 43 miles per hour. The bird is an Australian cultural icon, featured prominently in the nation’s coat of arms, and it also frequently appears in Indigenous Australian folklore. 

Neil Hollis designed the reverse, which depicts an adult emu walking alongside five chicks in a desert with the sun behind them. The inscription AUSTRALIAN EMU appears above the scene, with the weight, fineness, and year below. The obverse features Dan Thorne’s effigy of King Charles III and the denomination. The bullion coins are available in silver $1 or gold $100 versions from bullion distributors or from the Perth Mint for Australian and New Zealand customers. 

Additional bullion coins depict other native animals, including the kookaburra, the kangaroo, and the koala. The Perth Mint has also issued gold and silver pieces for the anniversary of the Australian Proclamation coins and the Year of the Snake.

A version of this article appears in the August 2025 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).