2012 Coloured Elephant $1
The Royal Australian Mints' Animals of the Zoo coloured one dollar series coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Melbourne Zoo, the oldest Australian zoo. The coin depicted above is the second release in the series, the reverse featuring the asian elephant. The Melbourne Zoo is home to seven of these endangered species elephants including Mali born in 2010. She was the first asian elephant calf born at the zoo thanks to artificial insemination.
One of six coins issued in 2012 this Melbourne Zoo series follows on from the very popular Ocean, Land and Air series released by the Mint in previous years. The 25mm dollar coins have a frosted uncirculated finish, this one with a sculpted asian elephant design which is then overlaid with colour in the pad-printing process. Bamboo also features in the design by the RAM's Aaron Baggio. This 2012 dated one dollar weighs 9 grams and is minted on an aluminium bronze burnished blank planchet. The obverse features the standard Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Issued in a capsule snapped into a collector card for $15, for up to date mintage figures see the 2012 One Dollar Issues and Mintages Table.
Posted by harrisk at March 14, 2012 12:43 PM
Subscribe to our Newsletter
