1.5 oz Australian Shipwrecks Silver Coin

The World's First Triangular Bullion Coins

The 1.5 oz Royal Australian Mint Australian Shipwrecks Silver Coin belongs to a four-coin series (2019-2021) that holds a genuine first in bullion history: these are the first triangular-shaped bullion coins ever issued by a sovereign mint. The equilateral triangle format, measuring 33.9 mm per side, is a deliberate departure from the round coins that have dominated minting for centuries. It also serves as a practical anti-counterfeiting measure, since tooling for triangular coins is uncommon and difficult to replicate.

The series commemorates four Dutch East India Company (VOC) vessels lost off Western Australia between 1629 and 1727. Each design uses a reversible concept: held one way, inscriptions read correctly and the ship appears to be sinking; inverted, the ship 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.

With a mintage of only 20,000 per silver design, these coins sit firmly in the collector-bullion crossover space. For comparison, Perth Mint's Kangaroo typically exceeds 300,000 mintage, and even the niche Perth Mint Emu runs to 30,000. The series concluded with the Zeewijk in 2021, creating a defined four-coin set that has no ongoing dilution from future issues. Secondary market premiums have increased since the series ended.

Shipwrecks Coin Technical Data

Complete Series Listing

The Batavia was additionally produced in an antiqued silver variant limited to 1,000 pieces. Gold versions were struck at 1 oz (.9999 fine) with only 250 pieces per design, making them genuinely scarce. The triangular capsule packaging distinguishes these from all standard coin storage solutions, and gold versions include a numbered Certificate of Authenticity. The series was exclusively distributed through LPM (Lee Precious Metals) in Hong Kong, a specialist dealer in low-mintage sovereign bullion, which limited initial Western market availability.

Four Ships, Four Centuries of Western Australian Maritime Disaster

All four ships in the series were Dutch East India Company vessels lost along the Western Australian coast during the 17th and early 18th centuries. The VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) was the world's first multinational corporation, and its trade routes between the Netherlands and Southeast Asia passed dangerously close to Australia's western coastline.

The Batavia (1629) is the most infamous. A VOC flagship, it struck Morning Reef in the Houtman Abrolhos islands. Forty people died in the wreck itself, but the real horror followed: a mutiny led by Jeronimus Cornelisz resulted in the murder of approximately 125 survivors before loyal officers regained control. The episode is one of maritime history's most studied atrocities.

The Vergulde Draeck ("The Gilt Dragon", 1656) carried trade goods, coins, and passengers from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia (modern Jakarta). It struck an uncharted reef; 75 of over 322 aboard survived initially. The wreck site was not discovered until 1963, over 300 years later.

The Zuytdorp (1712) vanished carrying an estimated 250,000 silver coins. The wreck was found at the base of cliffs now bearing its name, where the ocean floor was described as a "Carpet of Silver" from the scattered cargo. There is a theory that survivors intermarried with Aboriginal Australians; some Nhanda people in the region carry a genetic marker (Ellis-van Creveld syndrome) potentially traceable to Dutch ancestry.

The Zeewijk (1727), the final ship in both chronology and the coin series, produced one of the VOC era's great survival stories. Survivors built a small vessel (the Sloepie) from wreckage and sailed it to Batavia, a feat of improvised seamanship across open ocean.

Shipwrecks vs Standard Australian Bullion

The Australian Shipwrecks series occupies a different market position from standard Australian bullion coins. The triangular shape, low mintage (20,000 silver), and completed-series status place it firmly in the collector-bullion crossover zone rather than the pure stacking market.

Against Perth Mint's standard offerings like the Silver Kangaroo or Silver Kookaburra, the Shipwrecks coins trade at substantially higher premiums. Perth Mint products have deeper liquidity and tighter buy-sell spreads, making them better suited for investors focused purely on silver accumulation near spot price. The Shipwrecks' appeal is the combination of sovereign-mint guarantee, unique shape, historical narrative, and scarcity.

The issuer distinction matters. The Royal Australian Mint (Canberra) struck these coins, not the Perth Mint (Western Australia). The RAM is better known internationally for circulation coinage, while the Perth Mint dominates Australian bullion exports. This means dealer familiarity outside Australia may be lower for the Shipwrecks series, though the coins' unique appearance makes them immediately identifiable.

LPM (Lee Precious Metals) in Hong Kong held exclusive distribution, limiting Western market availability at launch and concentrating early demand among Asian collectors. Secondary market availability through Australian and international dealers has improved since the series concluded, but these remain harder to source than standard Perth Mint bullion.