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The Australian Wedge Tailed Eagle Series: History in the Making
The Perth Mint's Wedge-Tailed Eagle Series
In 2014, John Mercanti and the Perth Mint made history as the former Chief Engraver of the United States Mint collaborated with the Perth Mint on the new Silver Wedge-Tailed Eagle. The new issue marked the first time that a US Mint engraver designed a coin for a foreign mint. The first release in the series had a mintage of just 50,000 pieces, and the response among collectors worldwide was so overwhelming that the series has become a mainstay of the Perth Mint and among the most anticipated annual releases among collectors.
Among the most popular – and lowest mintage – issues in the series are the 5 oz. and 10 oz. high relief proof versions of the year’s Wedge Tail Eagle which carries the same design as the bullion pieces. These coins have had exceptionally low mintages, with the 2016 5 oz. High Relief Silver Proof and the 2018 10 oz. High Relief Silver Proof proving especially popular. The 2016 5 oz. Proofs have a maximum mintage of 5,000, while the 2018 10 oz. proofs have a maximum mintage of 1,000, meaning that just a handful of collectors can experience the stunning beauty of these pieces.
A Variety of Stunning Wedge-Tailed Eagle Designs
All the various designs in the series, have been well received by collectors. One of the reasons for the attention to this series, is that each of the eight designs has depicted the titular bird in a unique light. The common design for the first two issues in the series depicted the bird preparing to land on a branch with its wings spread outward. Shown from the side, this gave collectors perhaps the most detailed view of the graceful bird in flight so far in the series. The following two years bore a design that showed the bird perched upon a tree. This depicted the majesty of the creature. The closeup look features the bird calm and confident as it overlooks the area around it.
In 2018, the series took a turn with the first ever depiction of a family of eagles. The mother eagle features in the foreground, looking down at her eaglet with concern and responsibility. These human qualities gave collectors the opportunity to relate to the bird in ways that were not possible with the first two issues. Although the stunning beauty of the bird is captured in all three birds, including the male, which is depicted in the distance flying back to his family, this is the first one to portray characteristics such as maternal nature and love.
If the 2018 edition showed the loving, caring side of Australia’s largest bird of prey, the 2019 edition features just the opposite. The wedge-tailed eagle is as deadly as it is beautiful, and John Mercanti captured that with the 2019 design. In what could be the last thing that its victims ever see, the eagle swoops down with its talons outstretched preparing to snatch up its next meal. The birds have a wide-ranging diet, and while most of their victims are small animals, they have been known to hunt as teams to kill and consume goats and sheep by making them fall from cliffs and hillsides. The birds have even been known to hunt large red kangaroos!
While the reverse of the 2019 issue understandably got a lot of attention among collectors, its obverse design is also particularly noteworthy. For 21 years, Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II dominated the obverses Australia’s coinage. That changed in 2019, though, as Rank-Broadley’s design is replaced with Jody Clark’s. Clark works for the The Royal Mint, and his first portrait of Queen Elizabeth II began appearing on British coinage in 2015. The young engraver has also created the designs of the Queen’s Beasts Series. Clark’s new Perth Mint design is an adaptation of the design that he created for the Royal Mint. Unlike that one, this piece shows the monarch’s shoulders, which are open to the holder. Another difference is that this new design features the Royal Diamond Diadem, the same crown that Elizabeth II wore at her coronation, as opposed to the tiara that she wore in Rank-Broadley’s portrait.
The 2020 edition continued the previous narrative, showing the Eagle closing in on its prey, talons extended in anticipation, while the most recent 2021 edition shows the eagle after he has successfully captured his prey, a wiggling snake, in its powerful talons. The past two years included two first for the series. In 2020 the first-ever incuse Wedge-Tail Eagle was released, while in 2021, the first-ever Enhanced Reverse Proof Wedge-Tailed Eagles will be unveiled to the delight of collectors around the world.
2022 marks the 9th year of issue and brings another unique one-year-only design to the series that portrays the Wedge Tailed Eagle with a majestic side profile, with his beak open. You can add this stunning design to your collection rendered as a gorgeous Brilliant Uncirculated bullion coin, perfect for stacking, or a stunning Reverse Proof Ultra High Relief coin-a first for the one-ounce size!
2023 marks the 10th year of issue of the series and the eighth reverse design created by John Mercanti. The 2023 reverse design portrays a Wedge-Tailed Eagle with its large wings spread as it perches atop a branch. The 2023 obverse is notable, for the inclusion of the dates “1952-2022” as a memorial to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Stunning John Mercanti Designs
The Wedge-Tailed Eagle Series has been classified by some as Australia’s answer to America’s Silver Eagle coins. It is no surprise, then, that the Perth Mint turned to the man who created the eagle design that has appeared on the American Silver Eagle since its inception, John Mercanti, as their designer for this series. Mercanti is a giant in the world of numismatics. Having joined the US Mint in 1974, he became its twelfth Chief Engraver in 2006. He remained in that post until he retired in 2010. During his three-plus decades with the Mint, Mercanti designed more US coins and medals than anyone else in its history. His 100-plus designs include five reverses of state quarters, the obverse of the John Marshall commemorative dollar, and the 1984 Gold Olympic $10 coin.
Sources
https://www.govmint.com/2016-australia-5-oz-silver-wedge-tailed-eagle-high-relief-ngc-pf69-uc
https://www.govmint.com/2018-australia-10-10-oz-silver-wedge-tailed-eagle-high-relief-proof
http://www.perthmintbullion.com/Blog/Blog/18-02-19/Wedge-tailed_Eagle_reaches_new_high_in_2018.aspx
https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/4990/john-mercanti-signature-label/
https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/wedge-tailed-eagles
https://www.australian-coins.com/collecting-coins/australian-coin-portraits-queen-elizabeth-ii/
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