Early this morning U.S. time, the Perth Mint unveiled the world’s largest gold coin. The 1 Tonne Gold Kangaroo Coin is made from 99.99-percent pure gold, weighs one tonne (1,000 kilograms or 2,204.62 pounds), is 80 centimeters (31.49 inches) in diameter, and 12 centimeters (4.72 inches) thick. The obverse features Queen Elizabeth II and the reverse features a Red Kangaroo. The coin has a face value of AU$1 million ($1.04 million U.S. Dollars) and contains $55.23 million in gold (at the spot price $1718 per troy ounce).
Perth Mint surpassed the effort by the Royal Canadian Mint whose 2007 CA$1 million face value coin, made with 99.999-percent pure gold, and weighed only 100 kilograms.
Why did the Perth Mint do this? As a publicity stunt, of course. In a video produced by the Perth Mint (see below), the director said that it will be part of their exhibit for the 100,000 people per year who come to visit their facility. Certainly, the chance to see the World’s Largest Coin will be an attraction that will increase the number of visitors.
You can see how the Perth Mint made the coin in their video below.
2 comments:
great video link, good info ,thank you
I don't think this thing should be called a coin. Coins are struck, not cast. If the Perth Mint wants the glory of this publicity stunt, then they should have constructed a press capable of striking a coin of that size. Multiple blows are precedented, so even if it would take a hundred strikes to get up all the metal, the Perth Mint should have actually struck a blank in order to have the title "coin" bestowed upon it.
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