Today's coin reveal post features the 1oz .999 Silver 2008 Australian Artist Series - Reg Mombassa Coin struck by the Royal Australian Mint.

1. Coin Story

Reg Mombassa is a very unique and interesting Australian Artist. Reg is best known in Australia for being a freelance designer, who has previously been commissioned to design album covers, T-shirts, posts and other such installations.

Reg was approached by the Royal Australian Mint to produce a design for a 1oz silver coin as part of their three coin Australian Artist Kangaroo Series that ran from 2007 - 2009. The three Australian Artists who designed 1oz silver coins for this special edition series included:

• First coin was released in 2007, designed by Rolf Harris.
• Second coin was released in 2008, designed by Reg Mombassa.
• Third coin was release in 2009, designed by Ken Done.

I will write future posts about the other two coins in the Australian Artists Kangaroo series. The artist who designed the 2007 coin, now has a cloud of controversy hanging over him and his reputation. I will provide more information about that scandal in the future post.

Of all three of the coins in the series, I think I like this design the most. I really like the whimsical style of the design, being a rugby fanatic, I also love that the kangaroo is holding a rugby ball. The design reminds me of my childhood, kicking the rugby ball in the back yard with my older brother. We used to spend hours outside kicking and catching the ball.

2. Coin Packaging

These coins are housed in a colourful cardboard shipper case. The coin is presented in a black clam shell case. Each coin is accompanied with a uniquely numbered 'Certificate of Authenticity' (COA). The COA provides brief description of the coin designer and design, it also provides the key details about the coin.

3. Coin Details

a. Mintage

The mintage of this coin was 20,000 coins. Each of the coins were issued as legal tender under the authority of the Australian Government. The denomination of the coin is $1 (Australian).

b. Purity

The purity of the coin is .999 fine silver.

c. Details

Mint/Brand:	Royal Australian Mint
Silver Content:	1 Troy Ounce
Purity:	.999 Fine Silver
Denomination:	$1 (Australian)
Year of Issue:	2008
Edge:	Milled
Mintage:	20,000
Diameter:	40mm
Thickness:	3mm
Designer:	Reg Mombassa

4. Coin Design

a. Reverse Design

The reverse of the coin depicts a stylised kangaroo holding a rugby ball. The kangaroo is standing in front of a house in a typical Australian back yard.

The design includes an inscription 'one dollar', the coin weight 'ONE OUNCE FINE SILVER', with the initials of the designer 'REG M'.

a. Obverse Design

The obverse of the coin portrays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The design also includes the inscriptions 'ELIZABETH II', country of origin 'AUSTRALIA' and the year of issue '2008'.

Post authored by @strenue