Perth Mint — Australia: Emblematic Australian marsupial, the yongka, depicted on new silver double-crown silver coins

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The Perth Mint has released their second silver two-ounce mega-coin, which features original artwork of one of Australia’s more renowned indigenous artists, Kevin Bynder. The latest coin portrays an iconic symbol of this island continent with some of the world’s most unique wildlife. During the past 250 years, the kangaroo has been recognised worldwide as Australia’s most emblematic animal. For tens of thousands of years, the remarkable marsupial lived alongside Australian aboriginals, for whom it has always had enormous cultural and spiritual significance. The kangaroo features prominently in Dreamtime, the period in which life was created according to Aboriginal culture and other traditional stories handed down by Aboriginal people from generation to generation. Some communities consider the kangaroo a totem, the subject of sacred beliefs and an important affirmation of their cultural identity. Kangaroos were integral to aboriginal people’s way of life, providing meat for sustenance, and skins that were made into protective cloaks. Early images the kongouro from New Holland, as 17th-century Dutch navigators had named Australia, truly captured the imaginations of the privileged few who had seen the illustrations. The absolute oddity of a hopping marsupial was clearly beyond their descriptive ability and, ultimately, constant comparisons to cats, dogs, rats, and raccoons. It wasn’t until 1711 when Dutch artist Cornelis de Bruijn (1652–1727) produced the first confirmed depiction of a hopping marsupial, his sketches accurately illustrating the kangaroo’s distinctive pouch that made the mammal even more of a fascination to the outside world.

This large crown silver antiqued and colourised coin features an original-coloured painting of a kangaroo by Kevin Bynder, a Whadjuk-Yuet-Ballardong man whose original works are inspired by Western Australia’s natural environment. The images also reflect the history and knowledge of Bynder’s people, who have lived in Nyoongar country for tens of thousands of years. The coin’s reverse design represents yongka, whose booka, or skin, is decorated with cultural motifs. The yongka is bounding through green grass and ochre rocks of the boodjar, the lands of the Nyoongar nation, with orange, brown, and yellow colouring together with Katta Morda (also known as Darling Range) in the background. Overhead, the gradually darkening evening sky is portrayed in turquoise, blue, and black dots, each representing a djinda, the aboriginal word for star. Included on the reverse is the Perth Mint’s P mintmark. The obverse side includes the encircled memorial commonwealth obverse created by engraver Jody Clark depicting her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022), along with the years of her reign, 1952 and 2022. Below the Queen’s likeness are the specifications of the coin 2oz 9999 Ag, along with the denomination 2 DOLLARS. The year 2023 is shown as part of the legend surrounding the Queen’s effigy.

Denom.	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Quality	Maximum Mintage
2 dollars	.9999 Silver	62.2 g	50.8 mm	Oxidised surface	2,000

Each coin is housed in a contemporary framed latex custom case enabling viewing of both sides within an illustrative outer protective box, and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. For additional information, please click here.

The Perth Mint has pledged to donate AUD 10,000 from the proceeds of the sale of this coin to Wungening Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation which provides culturally secure, confidential, and free-of-charge services to Aboriginal people in the Perth metropolitan area.

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