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Thursday 10 September 2020

1476) The "Seven Sisters Constellation", Australia: The Second Coin in the Coin Series titled "Star Dreaming" launched by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM), Australia: Date of Coin issue: 03.09.2020:


The Royal Australian Mint, Australia has brought out  its second Silver Coin in the Coin Series titled "Star Dreaming", which began in 05/2020. The Coin Series highlights some of the most memorable stories in Aboriginal folklore, about the constellations seen in the Southern Hemisphere. 

The Second Silver Coin features one constellation which has a very similar and coincidental story shared with the ancient Greek astronomers.

The Aboriginal peoples of Australia are some of the oldest astronomers who used the placements of the stars as a means of travel, like maps, and even to predict the weather. Their skills and stories date back more than 65,000 years, and the stars have aided them in time-keeping for all this time.


The Reverse of the Silver $1 (One Dollar Coin) placed against a background of a painting of a riot of colours depicting the Seven Sisters in the night sky 

The Seven Sisters, as they are known to Indigenous Australians, is also the cluster known as the Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus.

Stories passed down over the millennia describe them as a group of young women being pursued by unwanted male attention - literally a tale as old as time itself.

The celestial cluster tells the story of the seven sisters fleeing to the sky to escape a man who wanted to take one of the sisters as his wife.

The stunning artwork on this coin tells the indigenous story of the Seven Sisters, in the star clusters Pleiades in the constellation Taurus. 

The Yamaji people of the Murchison region in Western Australia know that when the constellation sits low on the horizon at sunset - Emu Eggs are ready for harvesting. The brightness of the Star indicates the rainfall outlook.

The Silver Proof Coin:

The Silver Proof Coins with vivid colour in the design have been designed by Wajarri-Noongar designer Christine Jugamu Collard.

The Reverse of the Silver $1 (One Dollar) Coin depicts a line of the Seven Sisters leaping into the horizon and above the heavens. They are part of the Coin which is struck into relief.

Towards the upper right is a vividly coloured representation of the sky at night and the Seven Sisters cluster shown in the distinct Aboriginal style. 

The text "THE SEVEN SISTERS" is placed towards the lower periphery. Below this text, is the metal composition of the Silver Coin -"1/2 OZ .999 Ag".


The Obverse of the Silver $1 (One Dollar) Coin depicts an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right. The initials of the Effigy designer "JC" (standing for Jody Clark) appears on the Queen's shoulder.

The peripheral inscriptions read - "ELIZABETH II. AUSTRALIA. 2020. 1 DOLLAR".

The specifications of this Silver Coin are:

Denomination: One Dollar; Metal Composition: .9999 Silver (Ag); Weight: 15.5 grams (or 1/2 OZ); Diameter/Size: 35.89 mm; Coin Quality: Proof with applied colour; Maximum Mintage: 5,000 pieces; Mint: Royal Australian Mint; Year: 2020.



Each Silver Coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom black Royal Australian Mint - branded Case and is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity (COA).

The attractive Cardboard Box in which the Presentation Case is shipped. It is titled - "STAR DREAMING - THE SEVEN SISTERS".


The Back of the Cardboard Box gives a brief description of the representation on the Coin:

"STAR DREAMING - NYARLUWARRI - THE Seven Sisters:

One of the brightest and most well known star clusters is the Pleiades, in the constellation Taurus. In cultural traditions around the world including Aboriginal Australia, these stars are known as the Seven Sisters. Stories often describe them as a group of young women being pursued by a man in the constellation Orion, as they move from East to West each night.

In Yamaji traditions of Western Australia's Murchison region, these stars are called "Nyarluwarri" in the Wajarri language. When "Nyarluwarri" sits low on the horizon at sunset, the people know that emu eggs are ready for harvesting. Yamaji people also predict seasonal rainfall by observing how bright or faded the star cluster is at certain times of the year - a practice shared by Indigenous Quechua people of South America.


The Presentation Case placed alongside the outer Cardboard Box.








Links to posts on Australia, New Zealand and Countries and Overseas Territories of the South Pacific etc on this Blog: 

1) Bank of Papua New Guinea: 36th Anniversary Celebrations (1973-2008): A Commemorative Uncirculated Coin Set consisting of a 2 Kina Banknote & a 2 Kina Coin


 3) Currency & Coinage of the Solomon Islands: Dollars and Cents

4) New Zealand: New Banknote "Seventh Series" issued under Project "Brighter Money" from 2015 onwards

5) Coinage of the French Polynesian Island of Caledonia (or Nouvelle Caledonie) the CFP Franc  

6) French Institution for issuing uniform currency/coinage for French Overseas Territories in the Pacific and the French Southern Territories of Antarctica: The Institut d'emmission d'outre Mer (IEOM)

7) Currency & Coinage of Samoa: Tala and Sene 

8) Currency of the South Pacific Island Country of Fiji 

9) Coinage of New Zealand: A commemorative coin set issued in 1979 

10) Currency and Coinage of Australia: Dollars and Cents 

11) The Australian Emblem or the Coat of Arms 

12) The story of the Australian Penny 

13) The Legend of the Mutiny on the Bounty: A Commemorative Coin Set from the Pitcairn Islands depicting relics from the Bounty issued in 2009 

14) An Australian $5 coin issued in 1996, commemorating Australia's greatest cricketing legend - Sir Donald Bradman 

15) New Series/Generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced from 01.09.2016 onwards starting from $5 issues 

16) Southern Lights: A $1 Silver holographic coin issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in January 2017










Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:

Links to posts on issues from the Republic of Palau:

Links to Posts on coin issues from Niue Islands:


Links to posts on Coin issues from Solomon Islands:


Other links to interesting posts on Coins brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of other countries:









The 7-Summits Silver Coin Series:


Links on Batman and Superman Posts on this Blog:



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