First Coin of 2024 is Out of This World

The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) has collaborated with the Australian Space Agency to mint the world’s first coin of 2024, which pays homage to the country’s space exploration history. Titled ‘Out of this World – Australia in Space’, the coin’s theme ‘showcase[s] the incredible discoveries [Australian] astrophysicist[s] are making in what is known as the final frontier or deep space’.

Visitors were invited to the Mint at 7am on the 1 January, with 300 people trying their luck to make national and international history and strike the first coin of 2024. The first 100 coins minted received an official certificate of authentication, with the first name drawn from the barrel – 12 year old Izzy Zaharis – winning the chance to help press the very first coin of the year.

The guest speaker for the event was Dr Brad Tucker – an astrophysicist, cosmologist, and currently a Research Fellow at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mt Stromlo Observatory at the Australian National University.

‘Our connection to space and the stars is always amazing. From Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who have measured and connected with stars for 60,000 years, to the Apollo 11 landing, and beyond, we like to look up’, he noted. ‘Now, we can enjoy a bit of that connection on our coins.’ In addition to being the earliest coin of the year – not just nationally, but internationally – it is also the RAM’s first collectible commemorative coin to feature the country’s new King Charles III effigy on its obverse.

The reverse design features an Australian astronaut on a spacewalk at the top of the coin, with the launch of WRESAT – Australia’s first satellite, making it the seventh nation to put a satellite into orbit and the third nation to launch from its own territory – depicted below. Images of the moon and Earth, with the latter centred on the outline of Australia, feature at the bottom of the coin. An Australian-built rover – dubbed ‘Roo-ver’ – is expected to be selected for a lunar mission as part of NASA’s Artemis programme later this decade.

The theme title has been inscribed around the central design, with the words ‘rover’, ‘technology’, ‘rockets’, ‘astronauts’, ‘satellites’, ‘communications’, ‘GPS’, ‘astronomy’, ‘exploration’, and ‘discovery’, inscribed around the border of the coin.

The coin is legal tender and holds the denomination of $1, with additional finishes including a $10 gold proof, $1 silver proof, and an uncirculated four-coin set scheduled for release next month.

Two Portrait Firsts for The Perth Mint

In addition to the Royal Australian Mint’s ‘first’ of the year, the Perth Mint has started its year with a couple of firsts of its own. It has released two new coins featuring the Dan Thorne effigy of King Charles III, with one the Mint’s first coin to feature the King’s effigy, and the other the first coin of the 2024 Australian Bullion Coin Program to feature this particular effigy also.

The former, the Australian Kangaroo 1oz silver proof coin, is the Mint’s first precious metal collectable to feature the effigy and is the sixth monarch to appear on coins it has struck throughout its 125 year history. According to the Mint’s General Manager Minted Products, Neil Vance, the ‘superbly observed portrait proclaims the dawn of a new era for Australian numismatics’.

As a special addition to the Mint’s Australian Kangaroo series, the coin also features a ‘P125’ anniversary mintmark on the reverse, which it has said is an exclusive inclusion on 2024 dated releases, signifying The Perth Mint’s 125th anniversary. The reverse design also features classic reverse artistry portraying a bounding kangaroo surrounded by stylised rays of sunlight, alongside the typical weight, purity, and year of issue.

Mintage has been limited to 7,500, with the Mint expecting the coins to be highly sought after before their release – as shown by its website, where the coins are sold out.

The second coin is the Australian Kookaburra 2024 1oz silver bullion coin which, as mentioned, also features the Dan Thorne effigy of King Charles III, as well as the anniversary mintmark.

The coin portrays a kookaburra flying over a gorge with a snake in its talons, with ‘KOOKABURRA’ inscribed on the top right. A micro-laser engraved letter, only detectable under a magnifying glass, also features on the reverse as an authentication feature.

Maximum mintage of the coin has been set at 500,000, with 10oz and 1 kg versions scheduled for release later this year.