Perth Mint
Also: The Perth Mint, Gold Corporation
The Perth Mint is Australia's state-owned mint, founded in 1899, and is regarded as one of the world's most renowned refineries and minting facilities for investment gold, investment silver and platinum.
The Perth Mint is the official mint and refinery of the Australian state of Western Australia. It was opened in 1899 as the third and last British Royal Mint branch on Australian soil and is today owned by the Government of Western Australia, which operates it through the state-owned Gold Corporation. With more than 125 years of operation it is one of the oldest still-active mints in the world and enjoys an excellent international reputation for purity, precision and security standards.
History and significance
Originally the Perth Mint served to process Western Australian gold from the Goldfields district around Kalgoorlie. After the end of British Crown control in 1970, the state of Western Australia took over the facility entirely. Today the Perth Mint is not only a mint but also one of the world's most important refineries: it refines, processes and certifies precious metals from mining, recycling and the international market.
Australia is one of the largest gold producers in the world, and a considerable part of this production passes through the Perth Mint. This makes the institution a central hub in the global gold market.
Products and mint series
The Perth Mint issues a broad range of investment and collector coins as well as bars:
| Product | Metal | Fineness | Face value (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Gold Kangaroo | Gold | 999.9 ‰ | 100 (1 oz) |
| Australian Silver Kangaroo | Silver | 999.9 ‰ | 1 |
| Australian Platinum Platypus | Platinum | 999.5 ‰ | 100 |
| Lunar series (I, II, III) | Gold / Silver | 999.9 ‰ | variable |
| Perth Mint gold bar (LBMA) | Gold | 999.9 ‰ | – |
The Lunar series – coins in the Chinese zodiac motif – enjoys high popularity among collectors worldwide and appears annually with changing animal motifs. The silver coins of the Lunar series are considered a popular entry-level item for investment buyers.
Certification and authenticity assurance
A key unique selling point of the Perth Mint is its Perth Mint Certificate Programme (PMCP): investors can have physical gold and silver stored, certified in their name, in the mint's high-security vault without physically receiving it. Each certificate securitises a precisely defined share of alloy-free, LBMA-accredited fine gold or fine silver.
For physically delivered coins and bars, the Perth Mint uses the following authenticity assurance:
- Assay certificate – each coin and bar carries an individual serial number and a test certificate.
- Sealed blister packaging (certified bars) – tamper-proof original packaging.
- Coin weight and diameter – can be cross-checked with the coin weight checker and the coin authenticity check.
- LBMA Good Delivery – the Perth Mint is accredited on the LBMA Good Delivery List for both gold and silver, the international quality standard for wholesale bars.
Tax notes for Malta (not tax law advice)
In Malta, gold coins from the Perth Mint such as the Australian Gold Kangaroo qualify as investment gold and fall under the VAT exemption for investment gold (Directive 2006/112/EC): the requirements are a fineness of at least 900/1000, minting after 1800 and legal-tender status in the country of origin – all of which the Kangaroo meets without difficulty. Silver coins such as the Australian Silver Kangaroo, by contrast, are subject to Malta's standard VAT of 18%. On a private disposal, Malta levies no capital gains tax on movable assets such as coins; Maltese capital gains tax applies only to specific assets (immovable property, securities, business interests). This is not tax or investment advice – please consult a tax adviser. Sources: cfr.gov.mt, legislation.mt, eur-lex.europa.eu.
In brief
The Perth Mint combines state reliability, the highest finenesses (999.9 ‰) and international LBMA accreditation. Its coins and bars are liquidly tradable worldwide and equally suitable for investors and collectors.