Australian Shipwrecks Silver

The World's First Triangular Bullion Coins

The Australian Shipwrecks series is a four-coin programme from the Royal Australian Mint (Canberra) featuring famous Dutch East India Company vessels lost off Western Australia between 1629 and 1727. Issued from 2019 to 2021, these are the world's first triangular-shaped bullion coins produced by a sovereign mint. The equilateral triangle format, measuring 33.9mm per side, is a deliberate departure from the round coins that have defined bullion for decades.

Each coin is struck in .999 fine silver at one troy ounce, with a face value of $1 AUD, making them legal tender under the Australian Currency Act. Gold versions (.9999 fine, 1 oz, $100 AUD face value) were also produced with an extremely limited mintage of just 250 pieces per issue. The series was exclusively distributed through LPM (Lee Precious Metals), a Hong Kong-based dealer specialising in low-mintage sovereign bullion, which meant availability in Western markets was limited at launch.

The four ships featured are the Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draeck (1656), Zuytdorp (1712), and Zeewijk (1727). All were Dutch East India Company (VOC) vessels that met their end on the reefs and cliffs of Western Australia's coastline. The series concluded with the Zeewijk issue in 2021 and is no longer in production, making it a completed set with defined boundaries for collectors.

The design concept is reversible: when held one way, the ship appears to be sinking with inscriptions reading correctly. When inverted, the vessel appears under full sail. The obverse features a customised portrait of Queen Elizabeth II integrated with thematic elements, departing from the Royal Australian Mint's standard effigy placement.

Shipwrecks Series Silver and Gold Specifications

Common Specifications

A special antiqued silver variant of the 2019 Batavia was also produced with a mintage of 1,000 pieces. Two of the four coins (Vergulde Draeck and Zuytdorp) were issued in the same calendar year (2020), making the series span three release years for four coins.

Tax Status for Australian Shipwrecks Silver Coins

The Shipwrecks coins are official Australian legal tender with $1 AUD face values (silver) and $100 AUD (gold), issued by the Royal Australian Mint under the Australian Currency Act. This sovereign status affects tax treatment in most buyer jurisdictions.

• Australia: GST-free for both gold and silver versions. The Royal Australian Mint is a Commonwealth Government entity, and investment-grade precious metals at the required purities (.999 silver, .9999 gold) are exempt from the 10% Goods and Services Tax.
• United Kingdom: Gold versions qualify for VAT exemption as investment gold (sovereign-mint legal tender at .9999 purity). Silver versions are subject to 20% VAT when purchased new. Pre-owned silver Shipwrecks coins have appeared on the UK secondary market through dealers like Atkinsons under the margin scheme, reducing the effective VAT to a fraction of the full rate. Not CGT-exempt, as only UK legal tender coins qualify for that exemption.
• United States: No federal sales tax. State-level exemptions for precious metals apply in most states. Both silver (.999) and gold (.9999) versions meet IRS purity requirements for precious metals IRAs.
• Canada: Silver at .999 purity meets the 99.5% threshold for GST/HST exemption. Gold versions also exempt.
• Singapore: GST-exempt under the Investment Precious Metals scheme for coins that are or were legal tender at qualifying purity.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax or import duty on precious metals.

Four Dutch Shipwrecks on Western Australia's Coast

The four ships featured in this series were all VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) vessels that came to grief on Western Australia's treacherous coastline over a span of nearly a century.

The Batavia, wrecked on Morning Reef in the Houtman Abrolhos islands on 4 June 1629, is the most infamous of the four. The initial shipwreck killed approximately 40 people, but the real horror followed. The merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz led a mutiny among the survivors, orchestrating the murder of approximately 125 people before loyal officers regained control. The Batavia wreck site is one of the most significant maritime archaeological discoveries in Australian waters.

The Vergulde Draeck, or "The Gilt Dragon," struck an uncharted reef off the Western Australian coast in 1656 while carrying trade goods, coins, and passengers from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia (modern Jakarta). Seventy-five of the 322 people aboard survived. The wreck was not located until 1963, over three hundred years after the ship was lost.

The Zuytdorp, which disappeared en route to Batavia in 1712, carried an estimated 250,000 silver coins as cargo. The wreck was discovered at the base of cliffs now bearing the ship's name, where the ocean floor was described as a "Carpet of Silver" from the scattered coin cargo. A theory persists that Zuytdorp survivors intermarried with Aboriginal Australians of the Nhanda people, based on the presence of a genetic marker (Ellis-van Creveld syndrome) potentially traceable to Dutch ancestry in the region.

The Zeewijk, wrecked in 1727, produced one of the VOC era's great survival stories. Stranded survivors built a small vessel, the Sloepie, from the wreckage and sailed it to Batavia. The Zeewijk was the last Dutch East Indiaman lost off Western Australia.

Shipwrecks Triangular Coins vs Conventional Bullion

The Australian Shipwrecks series competes in a category of one: there are no other triangular bullion coins from sovereign mints. This makes direct comparison unusual, but the series can be measured against other low-mintage Australian silver and against standard sovereign bullion coins.

At 20,000 per silver issue and 250 per gold issue, the mintages are a fraction of what Perth Mint produces for its mainstream programmes. The Silver Kangaroo and Silver Kookaburra are produced in quantities of 300,000 or more. This scarcity, combined with the completed-series status and the unique triangular shape, means Shipwrecks coins trade at significant premiums over their silver content. Secondary market premiums have increased since the series concluded in 2021.

The issuer matters for context. The Royal Australian Mint (Canberra) is Australia's national mint, responsible for circulation coinage, but Perth Mint dominates the international bullion market. Buyers outside Australia are more likely to encounter Perth Mint products at their local dealer. A separate Perth Mint Shipwreck series (different ships, round format) also exists, which can cause confusion in the secondary market.

For buyers primarily seeking silver exposure at low premiums, the Shipwrecks coins are not the most efficient option. Their value proposition is the combination of sovereign legal tender status, the unique triangular shape, low mintage, and the historical narrative of the Dutch East India Company wrecks. These are coins that sit at the intersection of bullion and collectible, appealing to buyers who want more than generic silver rounds but are not interested in proof-finish numismatics at proof-level prices.