1 oz Quokka Silver Coin

The 1 oz Silver Quokka: Perth Mint's Capped-Mintage Crowd-Pleaser

The Silver Quokka is an annual bullion coin from the Perth Mint, first issued in 2020 and struck from 1 oz of .9999 fine silver, the same purity as Australia's flagship Kangaroo. Where it differs from the Kangaroo is scarcity: the Quokka is capped at 30,000 coins per year, while the 1 oz Silver Kangaroo has no fixed mintage limit. That cap puts the Quokka in the semi-numismatic bracket: it is priced and traded as bullion, but the limited supply can support premiums above melt value in a way open-mintage coins rarely manage.

The subject helps. Quokkas, the small Western Australian wallabies often called the world's happiest animal for their permanently smiling faces, became a global social media phenomenon after selfies with Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, and Roger Federer went viral. The Perth Mint leaned into this, unveiling the inaugural coin in a ceremony on Rottnest Island, the animal's primary habitat, in August 2020. Each year carries a completely new reverse design rather than a fixed type, which adds date-collecting appeal on top of the mintage cap.

The trade-off is liquidity. The secondary market for the Quokka is thinner than for mainstream bullion like the Kangaroo or the 1 oz Silver Maple Leaf, and dealer availability is narrower. Buyers choosing the Quokka are paying a premium-tier price for scarcity and design rotation, not for the cheapest possible ounce of silver.

Silver Quokka Specifications and Security Features

The reverse carries a micro-laser engraved letter detectable only under magnification, an authentication feature standard across Perth Mint bullion coins, along with the mint's "P" mintmark. The 2024 issue used a special "P125" mintmark marking the Perth Mint's 125th anniversary. Each coin ships in a protective acrylic capsule, with multiples of 20 supplied in sealed rolls. Note that the colourised proof Quokkas the mint also produces are a separate product line with their own mintages; the figures above describe the bullion issue.

Silver Quokka Tax Treatment by Country

As a .9999 fine legal tender silver coin, the Quokka clears the investment-grade purity thresholds in every major exempting jurisdiction.

• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade silver (99.9%+ purity) from a government mint.
• UK: 20% VAT applies to silver coins, and the Quokka's Australian legal tender status does not change that. It is also not UK legal tender, so unlike a Silver Britannia it carries no CGT exemption on sale. Some dealers may offer it under the margin scheme on pre-owned stock.
• US: No federal sales tax; most states exempt bullion coins, others tax them or set purchase thresholds. Long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt, as the coin comfortably exceeds the 99.9% federal purity requirement.
• New Zealand: GST-exempt at 99.9%+ silver purity, with no general capital gains tax.
• Singapore: 0% GST as a qualifying Investment Precious Metal; no capital gains tax.
• Hong Kong: no sales tax, import duty, or capital gains tax.
• EU: full standard VAT at national rates on new silver coins, though Germany's margin scheme on imported silver coins reduces the effective rate to the dealer's margin.

A New Design Every Year Since 2020

The Quokka is one of the Perth Mint's youngest bullion series, launched on 28 August 2020 with a ceremony on Rottnest Island, the small island off Western Australia that holds the largest stable quokka population (roughly 10,000 to 12,000 animals; the species is listed as Vulnerable, with fragmented mainland populations). The island's name is itself part of the story: Dutch explorers called it "Rattennest", rat's nest, after mistaking the resident quokkas for large rats.

The inaugural 2020 reverse, by designer Natasha Muhl, showed a quokka standing on its hind legs eating leaves on a beach, with a lighthouse behind. The 2021 coin, designed by Jody Clark, depicted an adult with its joey surrounded by flora, butterflies, and a bobtail lizard. Designs have rotated annually since, with 2024 showing a family of quokkas in a beachside setting. The obverse tracked the change of monarch: Jody Clark's effigy of Queen Elizabeth II appeared through the early years, replaced in 2024 by Dan Thorne's effigy of King Charles III, alongside the one-off P125 anniversary mintmark. Because every date is a distinct design with a 30,000 cap, individual years can develop their own followings, a dynamic closer to the mint's long-running Kookaburra series than to fixed-design bullion.

Quokka vs Kangaroo, Kookaburra, and Koala

All of the Quokka's natural rivals come from the same mint, which makes the comparison unusually clean. The Silver Kangaroo is the Perth Mint's flagship: unlimited mintage, the widest dealer availability, and the lowest premiums. It is the better choice for buyers who simply want Perth Mint silver at the lowest cost per ounce. The Quokka costs more for the same .9999 fine ounce, and what you get for the difference is the 30,000 cap and the annual design change.

Within the limited-mintage stable, the Silver Kookaburra is the closest comparison and the more established one, running annually since 1990 with rotating designs and the deepest collector following of the group. The Koala (since 2007) occupies similar premium-tier territory, and the Brumby runs a slightly tighter 25,000 cap. The Quokka, launched in 2020, is the newest of the set, but it has the strongest mainstream recognition thanks to the animal's viral selfie fame.

The honest framing: as pure silver exposure, the Kangaroo or a 1 oz Silver Philharmonic delivers the same metal for less. The Quokka suits buyers who want bullion with a scarcity floor and are comfortable with a thinner resale market in exchange.