Australian Gold Wedge-tailed Eagle

The Australian Gold Wedge-tailed Eagle coin is a legal tender coin comprising 99.99 percent gold with an unlimited mintage. The coin is a celebration of the Wedge-tailed eagle, which is the largest prey bird from Australia and amongst the largest eagles on Earth. The Wedge-tailed eagle is found all over southern New Guinea, Tasmania and mainland Australia. The bird’s wingspan reaches up to 2.7m in width and its wedge-shaped tail is long. It has feathers on its legs and the Australian Gold Wedge-tailed Eagle coin made its debut in 2015.

The minimum gross weight of the Australian Gold Wedge-tailed Eagle coin is 0.5 grams. It has a diameter of 11.60 millimeters and a maximum thickness of 0.70 millimeters. Its gold purity is 99.9 percent translating into 0.016 t/oz. The monetary face value of the coin is AUD2. Investors and collectors take interest in this coin due to its affordability and simple, elegant look. When writing this article, the coin was going for USD38.78 Perth Mint. Since the Australian Gold Wedge-tailed Eagle coin is Australian legal tender, investors and collectors do not pay sales tax or VAT when buying or selling it.

The reverse of the Australian Gold Wedge-tailed Eagle coin features the Australian Gold Wedge-tailed Eagle in full flight mode towards the left side of the coin with its talons fully opened as if in readiness to grasp prey. The inscription, “0.5 GRAM 9999 GOLD” runs clockwise at the bottom of the coin below the eagle’s image. The inscription, “P” to denote the Perth Mint, which produced it appears towards the mid-left edge of the coin above the wedged tail. The obverse is the work of John M. Mercanti.

On the other hand, the obverse of the coin features the crowned, fourth design effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing to the right of the coin. The effigy was designed by Ian Rank-Broadley and, hence, the inscription, “IRB” at the effigy’s neckline. The clockwise inscription around the top side of the coin reads, “ELIZABETH II · AUSTRALIA 2015 ·” while the anticlockwise one at the bottom contains the face value, “2 DOLLARS”.