Golden Heritage
The Australian Nugget gold coin series was the first legal tender gold coin program produced by The Perth Mint since the end of sovereign coinage in 1931.
The coins, which first appeared in 1986, were minted in four denominations with artistic designs celebrating Australia's historic natural gold nuggets, created by world-renowned Australian goldsmith and numismatic designer Stuart Devlin.
The "Welcome Stranger" motif
The reverse of the coin, which was pulled from the archives, features a motif that Devlin created for the original program but which was never issued on the coin. The motif depicts the Welcome Stranger, the largest nugget ever recorded. It was found in February 1869 by prospectors John Deason and Richard Oates in Moliagul, Victoria. Their find, weighing 2,284 ounces, was too large for the scales and had to be broken into three pieces before weighing. On the reverse of the coin, the nugget is surrounded by a drawing of a map of Australia and flanked by a ring of stylized sun rays. The design includes the name of the nugget and the mintmark "P40". The reverse also bears the inscription "THE AUSTRALIAN NUGGET" along with the weight, purity and year 2026.
Packaging for numismatic fairs
The coin is housed in a black striped presentation card with the inscription "Hobart Money Expo ANDA Special 2026 1oz Silver Proof Gold-Plated Coin 11-12 April" and the logo of the Australasian Numismatic Dealer's Association and was only available for purchase at the Hobart show.
