2020 Australia Sovereign Proof Gold Coin | Perth Mint

The 2020 Australia Sovereign celebrates the 165th anniversary of the Sydney Type I reverse, Australia’s first sovereign gold coin.

KEY FEATURES

• Proof quality 22-carat (91.67%) gold
• Commemorative sovereign design

‘*165’ privy mark celebrates Australia’s first sovereign

• Australian legal tender

COMMEMORATIVE COIN

In response to the gold rush of the 1850s, the first overseas branch of Britain’s Royal Mint opened in Sydney, capital of New South Wales, in 1855. The first coin struck was the sovereign, differentiated from London’s ‘Imperial’ versions by alternative designs created by royal engraver Leonard Charles Wyon. Celebrating this distinctly Australian coin, The Perth Mint’s 2020 Australia Sovereign incorporates historical elements of the 1855 Sydney Mint Sovereign with the addition of a special privy mark marking 165 years since it was first produced.

165th ANNIVERSARY PRIVY

This commemorative proof coin depicts the St Edwards Crown and two laurel wreaths, historical elements of Australia’s first sovereign, together with the inscriptions ‘AUSTRALIA’ and ‘SOVEREIGN’. ‘PERTH MINT’ is also included to denote the place of manufacture, modified from the original Sydney sovereign. An encircled ‘165’ privy mark celebrates the coin’s 165th anniversary in 2020.

ABOUT THE PERTH MINT

The Perth Mint opened in 1899 as the British Royal Mint’s 3rd branch in Australia. The historical Hay Street location handled gold refining until moving to a modern facility in April 1990. Ownership of the mint was transferred to the Government of Western Australia in July of 1970. Under an agreement with the Commonwealth Treasury, they were empowered to mint and market gold, silver, and platinum as Australian legal tender to investors and collectors worldwide. Today, they are amongst the elite world mints whose pure gold, silver, and platinum items are trusted without question. Items such as the Australian Nugget, Silver Coin Series (Kangaroo, Kookaburra, Koala, and Platypus to name a few), as well as the Australian Lunar Gold and Silver Coin Series, are extensively sought after by bullion investors worldwide.