The Perth Mint issued this coin to mark the end of the Pacific war, and the design does something few commemoratives attempt: it puts the American and Australian flags on a single shield to represent the alliance that ended it. Each coin holds a tenth of a troy ounce of 9999 fine gold with a 15 Dollar face value. The small size keeps the price accessible while the subject gives it appeal well outside the usual bullion audience.
Key Features:
- Purity and Weight: 1/10 oz of 9999 fine gold
- Face Value: 15 Dollars, legal tender in Australia
- Obverse: Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the weight, purity, date, and denomination
- Reverse: An eagle landing before a divided shield of American stripes and the Southern Cross
The obverse carries the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, facing right and wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, with the designer’s IRB initials beneath the truncation. ELIZABETH II arcs along the left rim and AUSTRALIA along the right. Around the lower edge, the specifications run in a single line: 1/10 OZ 9999 GOLD, the date 2016, and 15 DOLLARS.
The reverse works the alliance into one image. A bald eagle descends with wings raised and beak open, talons reaching for an olive branch at the lower right. Behind it, a circular field is split down the middle: the left half carries the vertical stripes and stars of the United States flag, the right half the stars of the Southern Cross from the Australian flag, including the seven-pointed Commonwealth Star. Individual flight feathers are struck as separate raised lines across both wings. VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC arcs across the top inside a raised inner border, the date 1945 sits at the base, and the Perth Mint’s P mintmark appears in the right field.
Coins ship in a protective capsule or flip. The 24 karat surfaces are soft, so handling by the edges is worthwhile.
Four-nines gold, sovereign backing, and a design tied to a specific moment in history rather than a generic emblem. Order your Victory in the Pacific gold coin today.