2022 Great Southern Land Lepidolite Opal 1oz Silver Proof Coin

This beautiful coin features the great southern Australian continent in stunning Australian blue lepidolite.

Since antiquity, European philosophers speculated that a large continent existed in the Southern Hemisphere to ‘balance’ those of the north. Terra Australis was the Latin term they coined to describe the posited great south land which different navigators explored in parts until Royal Navy cartographer Matthew Flinders completed the first circumnavigation of the island-continent now known as Australia in 1803.

Europeans were astonished by the exotic wildlife they encountered. Familiar to First Nations people for at least 60,000 years, they included the isolated continent’s famous pouched marsupials and an extraordinary diversity of fascinating birds and insects. Today, Australia supports about 850 bird species, of which roughly 45% are found nowhere else on Earth, while it is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of insects – with many still waiting to be formally identified.

The Perth Mint will release no more than 5,000 of the Great Southern Land 2022 1oz Silver Blue Lepidolite
Coin.

The coin's reverse features a blue lepidolite insert in the shape of the Australian continent. It is encircled with representations of an
Australian wedge-tailed eagle; a kookaburra; a splendid fairy wren; a blue banded bee; a birdwing butterfly; a sugar glider; a sulphur
crested cockatoo; and a willie wagtail. The background is composed of native flora motifs.

The coin is housed in a classic display case with a clear lid. Packaged with an illustrated shipper, each coin is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

 Note: Please note that the lepidolite insert colour will vary.