2019 Australia $5 1-oz Silver Nickel Plated Gold Tasmanian Tiger Echoes of Australian Fauna Proof

Australia's Vanished Fauna Comes to Life on Echoes of Australian Fauna Series

You've probably heard of a Tasmanian Devil, but chances are, you've never heard of a Tasmanian Tiger. Don't feel bad – the animal has been extinct since the 1930s. But thanks to a new coin series from the Royal Australian Mint, the Tasmanian Tiger lives again as the first coin in the Echoes of Australia series!

Struck in a full ounce of highly-pure 99.9% fine silver, the coin features the creature silently prowling through the Tasmanian wilderness. Also known as a Thylacine, the Tasmanian Tiger was a sort-of half-dog, half-tiger marsupial that boasted a striped lower back. About the size of a medium-to-large-sized dog, it was a carnivorous nocturnal animal with a range that included Tasmania and parts of Australia. Human encroachment, competition for prey from wild dingoes, and disease all contributed to the creature's ultimate demise. The Tasmanian Tiger may be gone, but it's not forgotten. It's still an immensely popular animal in Tasmania where two Thylacines support the nation's official Coat of Arms.

Though extinct, there have been enigmatic reports of unconfirmed Thylacine sightings over the years. This legal-tender $5 coin makes use of those mysterious sightings with a theme that includes the addition of black nickel plating over the entire coin and selective gold plating over the Tasmanian Tiger design. The entire presentation is even more fantastic due to its proof condition. Its hand-selected planchets, polished dies and multiple strikes have produced beautifully evocative frosted details rising over dreamy mirror-like fields.

Don't wait long to add this exotic creature to your menagerie of coins because the Royal Australian Mint has set the maximum worldwide release at just 5,000. Each will come in its original government packaging from the mint, including a presentation case with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

• FIRST COIN IN ECHOES OF AUSTRALIAN FAUNA SERIES – This coin is the first release in Australia's Echoes of Australian Fauna series. It depicts a shy Tasmanian Tiger silently prowling through the wilderness on the reverse while the obverse features Ian Rank-Broadley's effigy of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

• STRUCK IN HIGHLY-PURE SILVER – Each 2019 Australia Echoes of Australian Fauna Tasmanian Tiger Proof was struck in one ounce of highly-pure 99.9% fine silver.

• SELECTIVELY PLATED IN NICKEL AND GOLD – Each coin is also plated in black nickel while the tiger on the reverse is also selectively plated in gold.

• AUSTRALIAN LEGAL TENDER – These 2019 Australia Echoes of Australian Fauna Tasmanian Tiger coins are $5 legal tender in Australia.

• GORGEOUS PROOF CONDITION – Your 2019 Australia Echoes of Australian Fauna Tasmanian Tiger One-Ounce Proof was expertly crafted by the mint from hand-selected planchets, polished dies and multiple strikes to produce beautifully frosted details rising over mirror-like fields.

• LOW LIMITED EDITION – The Royal Australian Mint has set the maximum mintage for this coin at just 5,000.

As the first coin in Australia's Echoes of Australian Fauna series, the 2019 Tasmanian Tiger One-Ounce Silver Proof is sure to attract the attention of collectors around the world. Add one of these fantastic coins to your collection before our supply becomes extinct!