This newly minted Aussie coin is not only the most expensive but also the world’s largest coin. Believe it or not this coin weighs in at 1012kg. or 1.115 539 046 7 ton. It is cast as well as hand crafted and it took 18 months to complete. The coin is worth $53.5 million, and like all Aussies minted coins it is legal tender, but if you want to use it, it is only worth $1 million. (Best to hang on to it. 
)
BIG DOLLARS: Perth Mint CEO Ed Harbuz with the world’s biggest gold bullion coin. Source: PerthNow
As you can see from the pictures, it has the kangaroo on one side and Queen Elizabeth on the other. The coin is 99.99% pure gold. The coin was crafted in the Perth mint (Western Australia) and this mint is well known for its craftsmanship, and has done wondrous items in the past. Of course this coin is a much larger version of new coins that will be coming out, and I doubt very much if this will ever come up for sale.
The world’s biggest gold coin weighs is one tonne of 99.99% pure gold, nearly 80cms wide and more than 12cms deep. Source: PerthNow
But you have to admire the work it must have taken to make this coin; it must of seemed overwhelming when the idea was first put forward. I would love to see this coin, but Perth is on the other side of Australia from me. The distance between Brisbane (Queensland) and Perth (Western Australia) is about 3,700 kilometres or 2,240 miles.
There is an article about the coin in Perth Now.
Yowza – that’s one big chunk of change!
Hi holessence,
Yowza is right.
Australia – sort of like Canada – you don’t pop over to the other side of it for a quick visit!
Hi Margie,
Exactly, it is a long way, it’s about 4 and half hours in a plane.
Well, that surely is one safe way to store gold! Not a lot of people could walk in and steal it! Can’t you imagine a movie where a guy sets up a meeting with a thief, and says, all you have to do it get one coin and deliver it to my foundry – and I’ll pay you a million bucks! Hmm, like nobody would figure that one out! Silly thinking – but it certainly is a beautiful piece of art at the moment.
Hi Texasjune,
You know I was thinking about that as well, it would be very hard to steal, you would need a crane to lift it.
Hi Mags, Brings a new meaning to “a gold coin donation”. Cheers, Mal.
Hi Mal,
It certainly does.
I didn’t know that this was made, it is unreal.
Hi Browny,
I don’t think a lot of people knew the mint were making this coin, it was only unveiled when it was finished. It may have been reported, if it was I didn’t see it.
I would love it if there were vending machines to buy real estate with. Not only could we do away with agents, but it would be a hell of a feeling to heft one of those babies into the slot and to get a Certificate of Title (perhaps even with a free, ice cold Coke) coming out of the bottom.
Hi TOJ,
Now that is something different, and if you managed to heft this coin into the slot you deserve an ice cold Coke.
…and as you would expect from our government it’s got a value of one million dollars but has fifty five million dollars worth of gold in it….
Hi Kymbo,
That is just so true.
Remember the film ‘The Million Dollar Bill’? The hero had one, but nobody would make change, so he managed to live the life of Riley, and still had the bill intact at the end!
Yes, I agree there should be a movie about stealing it (preferably, with Michael Caine saying ‘You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!’) … where the villians find they can’t spend it, or find a big enough furnace to melt it down.
If it was an Australian movie it would have Michael Caton, and he could blast his way in with jousting sticks.
“They call this security? Tell ‘em they’re dreamin’!”
Hi TOJ,
Good one, I can see Michael Caton in something like that.
Hi travelrat,
I certainly do remember that film, I thought it was hilarious.
It would make interesting viewing that’s for sure.
Holey-Smoley that’s a huge coin. It gives a whole new meeting to the phrase ‘pocket change’ lol
Hi E.C.,
It certainly is a brilliant piece of work.
When we were kids we used to get coins in our Christmas stockings. I know what I’m going to ask Santa for this year. Trouble is, he’ll need a crane to get it into the chimney. WOW. What an amazing thing!
Hi Selma,
You will have to expand the chimney as well I feel.
That big thing would be hard to spend as it doesn’t fit into any coin slots that I know of.
Hi Lafemmeroar,
I doubt they could of made it any bigger, it certainly is a huge chunk of gold.
I saw this on television when it was unveiled. I’m a bit puzzled about its aim. Is it a work of Art or is it just for the Guiness Book of Records? And will it remain like that or is it temporary? Perhaps it is hoped that it will be a tourist attraction. If so, the State of Western Australia definitely has too much money. All due to the mining boom, of course. Perhaps it is just its way of “putting something aside for a rainy day”. The mind boggles.
Hi Lady Marilyn,
I don’t know why they made it. I assume after all that work that it will not be melted down. Just a unique way of storing the gold I suppose.
Another fascinating post, Mags. I live in Canada, where Queen Elizabeth’s face also appears on much of the currency. I’m still a little confused by this tradition. Are you? Has there been no one in Australia’s long history who would deserve the honor just as much? I wonder how Australians feel about this. And now that I mention it, I wonder how Canadians feel about it, too.
Hi bronxboy55,
Personally having the Queen on the currency doesn’t worry me at all, I always assumed she was on our coins because we are part of the Commonwealth and the Queen is at the top of that. I can only speak for myself but it really doesn’t worry me at all having the Queen on one side of our currency.
Right Mags – this Canadian is used to our Queen. It saves lots of arguments about whose mug would take the place of the head of the Commonwealth. We do a lot of Nature on our coins which makes me very happy.
BTW – Our Prime Minister was a little rude to Sri Lanka’s PM. Harper walked out when it was the PMs turn to present at the Commonwealth conference. We’re working on his manners, but can’t find an anger management group that will accept him!
Hi souldipper,
We also always have an Australian animal on our coins, personally I like the idea of the way the coins are done this way. I agree no arguments at all, a lot better.
He may have been called away for something or other, or he could need anger management.
Our PM here in OZ, well the less said about her the better. 
I worked at the Perth Mint back in 1993-94. Interesting place! I was a casual worker there through a labour hire firm – they had been through some renovations at the Hay St premises and we were there to help them get organised again.
At the end of every day we went through a door and pressed a button. Green light, we could leave; red light, bag search. And they didn’t just ask you to open it for a half-hearted look inside! Lunch boxes got opened, all pockets – the security men wore pistols, but they didn’t worry me half as much as the box of rubber gloves they kept under the counter.
At the same time they could be really casual about the material they worked with. I picked up a coaster -sized tablet of white metal once, and asked the metallurgist “Is this silver?”
He looked and said no, that’s platinum. I went that step further and asked “How much is this worth?”
I’ll never forget the offhanded shrug as he said “Uhhh – I don’t know. About $25,0000.”
It’s a very strange feeling to have a year’s wages sitting on the palm of your hand…
Hi gregoryno6,
That would of been a fascinating job. It doesn’t surprise me that security was very tight, you would expect it to be. The rubber gloves though that is scary.
I can see how working around the precious metals, and money would at first be awesome and overwhelming, but after a certain time it would not mean as much, it’s just something you get used to, after awhile you just get used to working with it, and it becomes just work.
It’s fascinating why someone would put all that effort into making a coin that’s so valuable no one can even get to see it.
I was interested to hear gregoryno6′s tale of what it’s like to work in the mint. Oh boy I cant imagine what happens at the security check if the red light goes off….
Hi dearrosie,
I agree, it was interesting to find out a bit of what it was like to work in a mint, and the thought about a red light going off would terrify me, especially knowing about the rubber gloves.