Aussie one-tonne gold coin the world’s biggest

By AAP and AG Staff October 28, 2011
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A gold coin worth $53.5 million is the world’s largest piece of legal tender, created by the Perth Mint.

THE BIGGEST, HEAVIEST AND inherently most valuable gold coin in the world has been unveiled by the Perth Mint.

Weighing just over one tonne, at 1012kg, it is more than 99.99 per cent pure gold worth more than $53.5 million.

The giant coin is 80cm wide, 12cm deep, took 18 months to create. Featuring a bounding red kangaroo on one side and the Queen’s motif on the other, it is designed by Dr Stuart Devlin AO, a goldsmith and jeweller for  Queen Elizabeth II.

It is Australian legal tender and has a denomination of $1 million – well below its gold value.

Aussie gold coin biggest in the world

Perth Mint chief executive Ed Harbuz said the coin was “the pinnacle of ingenuity and innovation”.

“To cast and handcraft a coin of this size and weight was an incredible challenge, one which few other mints would even consider,” he said.

Ed said the coin was a showpiece of the Australian kangaroo gold bullion coin program, and would coincide with the release of a number of smaller gold coins this week.

The weight and purity of each issue is guaranteed by the Western Australian government.

Video: making of the world’s biggest coin

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