1 oz 125th Anniversary Gold Coin

Perth Mint's 125th Anniversary: A One-Time Gold Commemorative

The 1 oz 125th Anniversary Gold Coin is a one-time commemorative issue from the Perth Mint, struck in 2024 to mark 125 years since the mint opened on 20 June 1899. This is not an ongoing series. There will be no 126th anniversary coin. The gold bullion version has a limited mintage of 25,000 pieces, which is low for a sovereign mint bullion coin (the standard 1oz Gold Kangaroo has unlimited annual production).

The reverse design combines three animals that represent Perth Mint's most recognisable bullion programmes: a kangaroo (the Gold Kangaroo series, running since 1986), a kookaburra (the Silver Kookaburra, since 1990), and a koala (since 2007). The three are arranged among golden wattle, Australia's national floral emblem. It is a deliberate meta-reference to the mint's own product history, compressed into a single coin. The obverse carries Dan Thorne's effigy of King Charles III, the new standard for Australian coinage.

At .9999 fine gold with a $100 AUD face value, the coin is Australian legal tender under the Currency Act. It carries the unique "P125" mintmark, a one-year-only mark that will not appear on any other Perth Mint product. Each coin includes Perth Mint's standard micro-laser engraved security letter on the reverse, detectable only under magnification. The coin ships in a protective acrylic capsule.

The 25,000-piece gold mintage positions this coin between standard bullion and limited collector issue. For comparison, the accompanying 1 oz silver version has a 150,000 mintage (less likely to develop significant secondary market premiums), and the 1 oz platinum version has just 5,000 pieces (one of the scarcer modern platinum issues from any sovereign mint).

125th Anniversary Gold Coin Specifications

Full Anniversary Programme

The 125th Anniversary was issued across three metals with both bullion and proof variants:

Tax Treatment of the 125th Anniversary Gold Coin

As a .9999 fine gold coin from an LBMA-accredited government mint, the 125th Anniversary benefits from investment gold tax exemptions in most jurisdictions:

• Australia: GST-free as legal tender precious metal. Capital gains tax applies on disposal, with a 50% discount for holdings over 12 months.
• UK: VAT-exempt as investment-grade gold (exceeds the 99.5% purity threshold). Not CGT-exempt, since only UK legal tender coins qualify for that relief. UK buyers seeking CGT exemption should consider the 1oz Gold Britannia instead.
• US: No federal sales tax. State sales tax varies (over 35 states exempt bullion). IRA-eligible at .9999 fine gold, meeting the IRS minimum of 99.5%. Must be held by an approved custodian. Capital gains taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• Canada: GST/HST-exempt as gold at 99.5%+ purity.
• EU: VAT-exempt as investment gold under the EU Investment Gold Directive.
• Singapore: GST-exempt under the Investment Precious Metals scheme.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax, no import duty, no capital gains tax.
• New Zealand: GST-exempt as fine gold at 99.5%+ purity.

The coin's tax treatment is identical to the standard 1oz Gold Kangaroo in all jurisdictions. The limited mintage does not affect its tax classification.

125 Years of the Perth Mint

The Perth Mint was established on 20 June 1899 as the third Australian branch of Britain's Royal Mint, following Sydney (1855) and Melbourne (1872). It was built to process gold from the Kalgoorlie-Coolgardie gold rush, where major deposits had been discovered in 1892-1893. Between 1899 and 1931, the Perth facility struck over 106 million gold sovereigns and nearly 735,000 half-sovereigns for the British Empire.

The mint remained under British jurisdiction until 1 July 1970, when ownership transferred to the Government of Western Australia. It now operates as Gold Corporation, wholly owned by the state government. The Perth Mint building in East Perth is a heritage-listed site and tourist attraction, housing the original 1899 melting house. The mint has refined over 15,000 tonnes of gold across its history.

Perth Mint is the only surviving Australian colonial branch of the Royal Mint. The Sydney Mint closed in 1926 and the Melbourne Mint in 1967. This makes the 125th anniversary not just a milestone for one institution but a marker for Australian minting history as a whole. The mint began its modern bullion coin programme in 1986 with the Australian Gold Nugget (later renamed the Gold Kangaroo), and has since expanded into silver, platinum, and a range of collector series.

The coin also marks a transition point. It is the first Perth Mint anniversary issue to carry Dan Thorne's effigy of King Charles III, making it a dual-transition piece: new monarch and institutional anniversary in the same coin.

125th Anniversary vs Standard Perth Mint Gold

The most natural comparison is between this commemorative and the standard 1oz Gold Kangaroo, Perth Mint's flagship gold bullion coin. Both are .9999 fine, 1 troy ounce, Australian legal tender at $100 AUD, and struck at the same LBMA-accredited facility. The key differences are mintage and design intent.

The Kangaroo has unlimited annual production and is made to be bought and sold as bullion. The 125th Anniversary has a fixed run of 25,000 pieces and a one-time design. That limited mintage creates potential for secondary market premiums as supply dries up, but it also means narrower dealer liquidity compared to the Kangaroo. Buyers purchasing purely for metal value will typically find tighter buy-sell spreads on the Kangaroo.

Against other major 1 oz gold coins, the 125th Anniversary competes on the same technical specification as the 1oz Gold Britannia and the 1oz Canadian Maple Leaf (both .9999 fine) but without their established secondary markets or advanced security features. The Britannia's latent image, surface animation, micro-text, and tincture lines provide stronger visual authentication than Perth Mint's micro-laser engraving alone.

The 22-karat 1oz Gold Krugerrand and 1oz Gold Eagle sit at the other end of the purity spectrum (.9167 fine) but still contain exactly one troy ounce of gold. Both carry lower premiums and higher liquidity than this commemorative, making them more efficient pure bullion purchases.

The 125th Anniversary is best understood as a Perth Mint collectible that doubles as investment gold, rather than a direct competitor to mass-market bullion coins. The P125 mintmark, the multi-animal reverse, and the fixed mintage give it a distinct identity for collectors who value the mint's institutional history.