To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Australian Nugget, Direct Coins is pleased to present this 1oz silver proof coin with gold gilding.

The Australian Nugget was the first legal tender gold coin program to be manufactured by The Perth Mint since the completion of sovereign production in 1931.

Debuting in 1986, the coins were struck in four denominations with artistic representations celebrating historic Australian natural gold nuggets by world-renowned Australian goldsmith and numismatic designer Stuart Devlin.

The coin’s reverse depicts the Welcome Stranger, the largest nugget ever recorded. Unearthed by prospectors John Deason and Richard Oates at Moliagul, Victoria in February 1869, their 2,284 ounces find was too large for the scales and had to be broken into three pieces before being weighed.

The portrayal of the nugget is surrounded by a line drawing of the map of Australia and encircled by a ring of stylised sun rays. Within the design is the nugget’s name, and a ‘P40’ mintmark. Also included on the reverse is the inscription ‘THE AUSTRALIAN NUGGET’, together with the weight, purity and 2026 year-date.