2023 Australian Kangaroo Yongka 2oz Silver Antiqued Colorized Coin

The second of its kind, this 2oz silver antiqued colored coin features an original colored painting of a kangaroo by Kevin Bynder, a proud Whadjuk-Yuet-Ballardong man. Kevin is a passionate artist and teacher whose diverse portfolio of vibrant and striking works includes many Indigenous guernsey and shirt designs for high-profile sporting franchises, as well as murals in both public and private spaces in and around Perth. Kevin’s works are inspired by Western Australia’s natural environment and reflect the history and knowledge of his people who have lived on Nyoongar country for tens of thousands of years.

During the past 250 years, the kangaroo has been recognized worldwide as Australia’s most emblematic animal. For tens of thousands of years, the remarkable marsupial lived alongside First Nations Australians, for whom it has always had enormous cultural and spiritual significance.

The kangaroo features in Dreamtime and other traditional stories handed down by Aboriginal people from generation to generation. Some mobs consider the kangaroo a totem, the subject of sacred beliefs and an important affirmation of their cultural identity. Kangaroos were integral to Aboriginal people’s way of life, providing meat for sustenance, and skins that were made into protective cloaks.

The coin is struck by The Perth Mint from 2oz of 99.99% pure silver and issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.

DESIGN
The coin’s reverse design represents Yongka. Yongka’s booka (skin) is decorated with cultural motifs. It is bounding through green grass and ochre rocks of the boodjar (lands of the Nyoongar nation), with the orange, brown and yellow KattaMorda (Darling Range) in the background. Overhead, the gradually darkening evening sky is portrayed in turquoise, blue and black dots, each representing a djinda (star). Included on the reverse is The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

The coin’s obverse portrays The Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Obverse, featuring the Jody Clark effigy supplemented with the dates of Her Majesty’s reign. Also included are the coin’s weight, purity, denomination, and year-date.

TECHNICAL NOTE
This coin’s obverse has been individually ‘antiqued’ to give it a unique finish conveying the surface abrasions of an ancient artefact. As a result of this treatment, the appearance of each coin in the mintage may vary.

PRESENTATION
The coin is housed in a contemporary latex case within a beautifully illustrated shipper and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.

• 99.99% pure silver
• Features original artistry of a kangaroo by Kevin Bynder, a proud Whadjuk-Yuet-Ballardong man
• Design suggestive of the ancient Aboriginal cultural practice of body painting
• Limited mintage – 2,000
• Australian legal tender
• Numbered Certificate of Authenticity
• Beautifully illustrated presentation packaging