Gold Coin Australian Bird of Paradise 1 Oz 2019

Australian Bird of Paradise 2019

Australian Bird of Paradise is a gold investment coin issued by the Perth Mint in 2019 in the finest 99.99% pure gold, weighing 1 Oz (31.1 g). The Australian Bird of Paradise investment coin was launched by the Perth Mint in 2018 and the Mint plans to release a new design each year, as is the case with the Kangaroo gold investment coin.

The reverse of the coin depicts an adult trumpeter skate (Manucodia keraudrenii, Phonygammus keraudrenii) perched on a branch, emitting its distinctive trumpet-like whistle. The motif is accompanied by the inscription "AUSTRALIAN BIRD OF PARADISE", weight and fineness data and the Perth Mint's "P" mint mark.
The songbirds of the Paradise family comprise 43 subspecies and are native to New Guinea and northern Australia. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, skates were hunted en masse for their feathers, which became a fashionable accessory for ladies' hats in Europe. The name stingray is derived from the appearance of the feathers, which were said to come from paradise. Due to a drastic decline in the population of the skate, hunting was banned in 1924. The trumpeter ray was discovered in the unexplored wilderness of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. It got its scientific name from the French physician Pierre François Keraudren and the combination of the Greek words "mock song" with "wedding", reflecting the loud and harsh call of the male during courtship. Larger males measure about 31 cm (12 inches) and have glossy blue-black plumage with elongated horn-like ear tufts and a mane of feathers on the neck.

The obverse shows a traditional portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark with the initials "JC" and the inscriptions "ELIZABETH II", "AUSTRALIA", the year of issue "2019" and the face value. The coin has the status of Australian legal tender under the Monetary Act 1965.

The coin comes in a protective plastic capsule and is limited to a mintage of just 5,000 worldwide!