World’s largest, heaviest and essentially most valuable gold coin was unveiled by Perth Mint of Australia. Featuring a kangaroo on one side and the Queen’s motif on the other, this coin, weighing over one tonne, is the 99.99 per cent pure gold, and based on the current market price of gold, it has a value of more than $55 million.
Perth Mint chief executive Ed Harbuz said: The largest coin in the world up to now has been 100 kilograms, made by a competitor mint, and we thought well, we’d better make it so much bigger that it’ll stay the biggest coin in the world for a long time. To cast and handcraft a coin of this size and weight was an incredible challenge – one which few other mints would even consider.
A team of a dozen people have worked since late last year to create the coin which measures 80 centimetres wide and 12 centimetres deep. Creating process had lasted 18 months.
Previous holders of the title of world’s largest gold coin include a 31 kilogram Gold Philharmonic coin struck by the Austrian Mint in 2004, which carried a €100,000 denomination. This was followed by a 100 kilogram Gold Maple coin struck by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007, which carried a face value of CA$1,000,000. [1TonneGoldCoin]
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