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Monday 21 September 2020

1487) 2020-Silver Emu, Australia: A $1 (One Dollar) Silver Bullion Coin issued by the Perth Mint, Australia: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2020:

 1487) 2020-Silver Emu, Australia: A $1 (One Dollar) Silver Bullion Coin issued by the Perth Mint, Australia: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2020:

The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative - the Ostrich.

It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius.

The Emu's range covers most of mainland Australia, but the Tasmanian, Kangaroo Island and King Island sub-species became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788.

The bird is sufficiently common for it to be rated as one of "Least Concern" by the "International Union for Conservation of Nature" (IUCN).

Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.90 metres (or 6.20 feet) in height.

 Though they cannot fly, Australia's native bird is no snoozer. The Emu's legs can propel it forward at speeds up to 50 kilometres per hour (or more than 30 miles per hour).

Emus forage for a variety of plants and insects, but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently, but take copious amounts of water when the opportunity arises.

There are few native natural predators of Emus still alive, of which the Dingo (introduced by Aboriginals thousands of years ago from a stock of semi-domesticated wolves is the most prominent one. Other prominent predators include the Wedge-tailed Eagles, other raptors, monitor lizards, red foxes, feral and domestic dogs etc.

Breeding takes place place in May and June and fighting among females for a mate is common. Females can mate several times and lay several clutches of eggs in one season, while the male does the incubation - during this process he hardly eats or drinks and loses a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after around eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. The juveniles reach full size after about six months, but mostly remain as a family unit until the next breeding season.

The Emu population varies from time to time and is estimated to be between 650,000 to around 7,50,000 birds. 

The Emu is an important cultural icon of Australia, appearing on the Coat of Arms and various Coins. The bird features prominently in Indigenous Australian mythology.

The Header showing the Reverse and Obverse of the $1 (One Dollar) Silver Dollar Coin, placed against a background of the natural habitat of the Australian Emu

The Coin:

The Reverse and Obverse of the Silver $1 (One Dollar Bullion Coin) shown side-by-side

The Reverse of the $1 (One Dollar) Silver Bullion Coin shows a pair of Emus in an outback landscape.

The inscription on the upper periphery reads - AUSTRALIAN EMU" and on the lower periphery is inscribed - "2020. 1 OZ. 9999 SILVER". The "P" Mint Mark of the Perth Mint is at centre left behind the leg of the standing Emu.


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

The peripheral inscriptions are - "ELIZABETH II. AUSTRALIA. 1 DOLLAR". 

The specifications of the $1 Silver Bullion Coin are:

Country of issue: Australia; Denomination: $1 (One Dollar); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 1.0 Oz (or 31.107 grams); Diameter/Size: 40.9 mm; Mint: Perth Mint, Australia; Year: 2020; Coin Quality: Uncirculated (U). Mintage: 30,000 pieces.




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










52) Australian Koala - 2020, Australia: A $1 (One Australian Dollar), Silver Proof-like Coin minted by the Perth Mint, Australia: Year: 2020

53) "Winged Victory" Coin, Australia: Perth Mint has issued Gold and Silver Coins featuring the Greek Goddess Nike: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2020 (with Year of issue inscribed as 2021)


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:




8 comments:

  1. Rajan Trikha has commented:
    "Very nicely compiled/written."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vikram Bhatnagar has commented:
    "They also lay massive blue and green eggs, which have a very long shelf life!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a very interesting bird. Aggressive at times, predated at others, but has a prominent place in aboriginal mythology. Got a constellation named after it too, Vikram.

      Delete
  3. Santosh Khanna has commented:
    "Great post."

    ReplyDelete
  4. Vinod Khurana has commented:
    "Good informative post."

    ReplyDelete