1.5 oz Wedge-Tailed Eagle Silver Coin

John Mercanti's Australian Eagle in 1.5 oz Silver

The 1.5 oz Perth Mint Wedge-Tailed Eagle silver coin brings together one of Australia's most distinctive birds of prey with the design talents of John M. Mercanti, the 12th Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. Mercanti produced more coin and medal designs than any other employee in US Mint history (over 100 as of 2006), and his collaboration with the Perth Mint marked the first time a former US Mint Chief Engraver designed a coin for a foreign mint. He described the project as "one of the highlights of my career."

The Wedge-Tailed Eagle series launched in January 2014 as an annual programme with changing reverse designs, primarily in 1 oz silver and gold formats. The 1.5 oz silver variant expands the series into the non-standard weight category that Perth Mint has explored alongside the Royal Canadian Mint. At .999 fine silver with Australian legal tender status, the coin combines the prestige of a major sovereign mint programme with the crossover appeal of Mercanti's involvement, which resonates particularly strongly with American collectors familiar with his work on the Silver Eagle.

The wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) is Australia's largest bird of prey and one of the largest eagles in the world, with a wingspan reaching 2.3 metres (7.5 feet). Found across mainland Australia and into southern New Guinea, it symbolises freedom, spirit, and strength in Australian culture. The annual design changes keep the series fresh for collectors, with each year showing the eagle in different postures: soaring, landing, perched, or with wings spread.

Wedge-Tailed Eagle 1.5 oz Silver Specifications

The coin features a micro-laser engraved authentication letter on the reverse, a standard Perth Mint anti-counterfeiting measure visible under magnification. This security feature is consistent across Perth Mint's bullion range and provides a reliable authenticity indicator for the secondary market.

The .999 purity is standard for the Wedge-Tailed Eagle series across its silver bullion releases. This is slightly below the .9999 standard Perth Mint uses for some other series (such as the Platypus and Kookaburra), though the one-nine difference has negligible practical impact on silver content: a 1.5 oz coin at .999 contains 46.608 grams of pure silver versus 46.651 grams at .9999.

The 1 oz version of the series has maintained a mintage cap of 50,000 per year (from 2014 and 2018 onward, with unlimited mintage during 2015-2017). The 1.5 oz variant follows Perth Mint's production decisions for extended-weight coins in the programme.

Tax Treatment for the Wedge-Tailed Eagle

As Australian legal tender under the Currency Act 1965, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle qualifies for investment-grade tax treatment in several jurisdictions, with the usual distinction between gold-favourable and silver-applicable tax regimes.

Australia

Silver at 99.9% purity or above from an accredited refiner in standard bullion form qualifies as GST-free in Australia. The Wedge-Tailed Eagle's .999 purity meets this threshold. Capital gains tax applies on disposal, with a 50% discount for holdings exceeding 12 months.

United Kingdom

Silver coins carry 20% VAT on purchase in the UK. The investment gold VAT exemption does not extend to silver regardless of purity, legal tender status, or mint of origin. The Wedge-Tailed Eagle is not CGT-exempt (not UK legal tender). Pre-owned examples may be available under the margin scheme from participating dealers.

United States

The series is particularly popular in the US due to the Mercanti connection. Sales tax varies by state, with approximately 35 states exempting bullion purchases entirely. The .999 purity meets the minimum threshold for precious metals IRA eligibility. The Mercanti association also supports the graded/slabbed market, with NGC and PCGS frequently offering special Mercanti signature labels.

Canada

GST/HST exempt as investment bullion meeting the 99.9% purity threshold. Standard provincial tax treatment applies.

Singapore and Hong Kong

In Singapore, the coin qualifies as an Investment Precious Metal (IPM) at 99.9% purity from a recognised sovereign mint, attracting 0% GST. Hong Kong has no sales tax, no import duty, and no capital gains tax on bullion.

Wedge-Tailed Eagle vs Other Perth Mint Silver Series

Within Perth Mint's silver bullion range, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle occupies a distinctive position as the only series designed by a non-Australian engraver of international renown. The 1.5 oz Platypus shares the same weight class and Perth Mint provenance with .9999 purity (slightly higher than the Eagle's .999), but lacks the collector crossover appeal of the Mercanti name. The Platypus also carries an unlimited mintage, whereas the Wedge-Tailed Eagle programme has demonstrated Perth Mint's willingness to cap production.

The 1 oz Wedge-Tailed Eagle is the primary offering in this series, with 50,000 mintage caps maintaining scarcity. By comparison, the Perth Mint Kookaburra (also .9999 purity with annual design changes) carries unlimited mintage and is more widely available. The lower mintage gives the Wedge-Tailed Eagle series a moderate numismatic premium above generic bullion levels.

Against the 1.5 oz RCM Snow Falcon, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle offers the Mercanti pedigree and annual design variation (the Snow Falcon was a single 2016 release). The RCM coin carries .9999 purity versus .999, and benefits from the RCM's longer-established presence in the 1.5 oz market. Both coins target similar buyers: those seeking more silver per coin than the standard 1 oz format from a respected sovereign mint.

The Mercanti connection gives the Wedge-Tailed Eagle unique crossover appeal with American collectors. The same designer created the heraldic eagle reverse on the American Silver Eagle, making this series a bridge between Australian and American numismatic traditions. NGC and PCGS slabbed examples with Mercanti's personal signature command significant premiums in the graded coin market.