1 Ounce Gold Red-bellied Black Snake 2022 PP (Mintage: 150 | colorized | Proof)

1 Ounce Gold Red-bellied Black Snake 2022 PP (Mintage: 150 | colorized | Proof): Australia's snake in colour on fine gold

• Strictly limited: The mintage is limited to just 150 pieces worldwide.
• Rarity: With so few examples, every coin becomes a true rarity in your collection.
• Design: Glossy black scales, a bright red belly and green foliage, rendered in colour on a golden background.
• Material and fineness: One ounce of gold with a fineness of 999.9/1,000.
• Manufacturer: Struck by the Perth Mint, one of the oldest mints in Australia.
• Country of origin: Australia, issued by the island nation of Niue in the South Pacific.

This coloured collector's coin brings you close to an animal you would rather keep your distance from in the wild: the red-bellied black snake of eastern Australia. The Perth Mint has brought the snake to life on one ounce of fine gold and given it colour. With a mintage of 150 pieces, every example becomes a special piece of your collection.

The red-bellied black snake as a coin design

The red-bellied black snake lives in eastern Australia and likes to stay close to water. Its hallmark is the contrast between its glossy black back and its red underside. The design makes use of exactly this contrast. The snake winds across a golden ground reminiscent of sand or earth, and green leaves complete the scene. Alongside it, in large letters, stands the animal's name: AUSTRALIA'S RED-BELLIED BLACK SNAKE.

Colour as part of the design

On coloured coins, the colour is applied to selected areas of the design after striking. It sits on the struck relief, so the scales, belly and leaves take on their natural tones. The golden background forms a warm frame for the dark animal. When you turn the coin in the light, the interplay between gleaming metal and coloured areas is especially striking.

The Perth Mint and Niue

The coin comes from the Perth Mint in Western Australia. It has been striking coins since 1899 and is renowned for its animal designs. The black snake was issued by Niue, a small island in the South Pacific. The obverse bears the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, along with the year 2022 and the face value of 100 Niue dollars.

Rarity with a certificate of authenticity

For collectors, the mintage matters above all, alongside the design. With 150 examples, the black snake is a strictly limited issue of which only a few pieces exist. Each coin comes in a case and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. This keeps the provenance of your collector's coin traceable even years from now, for example if you one day pass it on to the next generation.

Fine gold with collector appeal

Among gold coins with animal designs, this issue unites two qualities: the appeal of a rare design and the lasting material value of fine gold. Many investors value gold as an inflation hedge and as crisis protection. With the red-bellied black snake, however, the joy of collecting comes first, backed by an ounce of fine gold that carries its value within itself.

Key facts at a glance

• Manufacturer: Perth Mint
• Country of issue: Niue
• Face value: 100 Niue dollars
• Year of issue: 2022
• Fine weight: 31.1 g (1 ounce)
• Fineness: 999.9/1,000
• Diameter: 38.6 mm
• Mintage: 150 pieces
• Features: coloured, in a case with certificate of authenticity

In the wild, it is wiser to keep your distance from this snake. On the coin, you can study it up close at your leisure, in colour and on fine gold.

Add the coloured red-bellied black snake from the Perth Mint to your collection as a rare collector's piece, at Kettner Edelmetalle.