1/4 oz Victory in the Pacific Gold Coin

The 1/4 oz Victory in the Pacific Gold Coin

The 1/4 oz Victory in the Pacific is a fractional gold coin from the Perth Mint's WWII commemorative bullion series, first issued in 2013. It commemorates the Allied victory in the Pacific Theatre of World War II and the partnership between Australia and the United States, and it is Australian legal tender under the Currency Act 1965 with a $25 AUD face value. The coin is struck in .9999 fine gold, the Perth Mint's standard for bullion coins, so it carries the same government-guaranteed weight and purity as the mint's flagship Kangaroo.

What distinguishes the series from most themed releases is consistency. The reverse design has not changed since launch, only the date updates, which makes it a bullion-focused product rather than a collector series with annual design changes. The quarter-ounce weight serves as an accessible entry point for gold buyers: fractional gold coins generally run higher premiums per ounce than 1 oz pieces, with the 1/4 oz size occupying a useful middle ground between the cost-efficient 1 oz coins and the premium-heavy 1/10 oz pieces. Within Perth Mint's own range it sits as a secondary offering with a lower profile and lower premiums than the gold Kangaroo, but identical backing. The WWII alliance theme gives it particular resonance for American buyers.

Victory in the Pacific 1/4 oz Gold Specifications

The reverse shows a bald eagle in flight clutching an olive branch in its talons, with the Stars and Stripes on the left and the Southern Cross constellation representing Australia on the right, inscribed "VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC" and "1945" with the Perth Mint's 'P' mintmark. The obverse carried Ian Rank-Broadley's 1998 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II until 2023, when it transitioned to the effigy of King Charles III. The gold series also includes a 1/10 oz Victory in the Pacific gold coin (16.1 mm, $15 AUD face value), and a 1/2 oz silver version exists at .9999 purity. Security rests on the legal tender guarantee, the 'P' mintmark, and tamper-evident seals on Perth Mint bulk tubes; the four-nines purity is straightforward to verify by specific gravity testing.

Victory in the Pacific Tax Treatment by Country

At .9999 fineness this coin clears the investment-gold purity thresholds everywhere, so purchase taxes are minimal in the major markets.

• Australia: GST-free as an investment-grade gold coin at 99.5%+ purity. CGT applies on disposal, with a 50% discount for individuals holding over 12 months.
• US: no federal sales tax, and most states exempt bullion. The .9999 purity meets the IRS threshold for gold IRA eligibility. Long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• UK: 0% VAT as investment gold, but not CGT-exempt: the UK exemption applies only to UK legal tender coins, and this is Australian legal tender. Gains above the £3,000 annual allowance are taxable.
• Canada: 0% GST/HST for gold at 99.5%+ purity in coin form.
• New Zealand: GST-exempt at 99.5%+ gold purity, which the coin comfortably meets.
• Singapore and Hong Kong: no GST or sales tax on qualifying investment gold, and no capital gains tax in either jurisdiction.
• EU: 0% VAT as investment gold under the EU directive covering legal tender gold coins at 900+ fineness.

UK buyers wanting the same metal with CGT exemption should weigh a quarter-ounce Britannia instead; everywhere else the tax treatment matches the major sovereign coins.

A Coin for V-J Day

The series commemorates the end of the war in the Pacific. Japan's surrender ceremony took place aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, the date marked as V-J Day, and Australia was one of the signatories to the instrument of surrender. The Perth Mint launched the Victory in the Pacific series in 2013 to honour the Allied victory and the wartime alliance between Australia and the United States, and has issued it annually since.

The design choices reinforce the alliance theme throughout. The eagle-and-olive-branch motif echoes the Great Seal of the United States, while the Southern Cross opposite the Stars and Stripes places the two nations side by side on the coin face. The fixed "1945" inscription anchors every issue to the event rather than the issue year. Unlike the Perth Mint's Kookaburra or Kangaroo programmes, the reverse has never changed, a deliberate decision that keeps the coins easy to identify and trade as bullion. One quirk collectors notice: the 2016 silver issue's mintage was exactly 850,001, with the odd "+1" likely reflecting an assay or audit coin. The obverse followed royal protocol, moving from Ian Rank-Broadley's Queen Elizabeth II portrait to King Charles III's effigy after 2023, which means the series now spans two monarchs across its production run.

Victory in the Pacific vs Kangaroo and the Flagship Coins

Within the Perth Mint's own stable, the natural alternative is the gold Kangaroo, the mint's flagship bullion coin. The Kangaroo has much higher mintages, annual design changes, and broader dealer availability; Victory in the Pacific is a secondary, niche offering with the same .9999 purity and government guarantee. Against other Perth Mint themed releases like the Saltwater Crocodile or Funnel-Web Spider, the Victory in the Pacific has a longer track record, running continuously since 2013 where many themed coins were one-off or short-run releases.

Against the global flagships, the trade-off is liquidity versus cost. The American Eagle and Canadian Maple Leaf enjoy vastly greater recognition and tighter dealer buy-back spreads; the Victory in the Pacific is less liquid but may carry slightly lower premiums. At the quarter-ounce weight specifically, the mainstream alternatives are the 1/4 oz gold Britannia, the 1/4 oz Gold Eagle, and the 1/4 oz Maple Leaf, all standard fractional offerings from their mints. For UK buyers the Britannia's CGT exemption is decisive. For US buyers, both this coin and the Eagle are IRA-eligible, so the choice rests on premium and the appeal of the WWII alliance theme. Buyers planning to exit through any dealer without friction should favour the flagships; buyers happy to sell through major online dealers can capture the niche coin's pricing.