The wedge-tailed eagle is Australia’s largest bird of prey, and this 2020 release captures it in the fifth design created for The Perth Mint by John M. Mercanti, the twelfth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint and the artist behind the American Silver Eagle reverse. Struck as a piedfort — a near double-thickness coin in a tradition reaching back to twelfth-century France, where such pieces were presented to visiting dignitaries — it carries two full ounces of pure silver within a standard proof diameter, and just 1,500 were released worldwide.

The reverse depicts a magnificent wedge-tailed eagle swooping on its prey in the midst of a hunt, with the inscription AUSTRALIAN WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE, the 2020 year-date, the coin’s weight and fineness, and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

The obverse bears the Jody Clark effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the $2 denomination.

The coin is housed in a grey display case within an illustrated shipper, accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Silver Content (grams) - 62.21

Fineness (% purity) - 99.99

Diameter (mm) - 40.90

Release: 2020
Mintage: 1,500