Mareeba Rock-wallaby Silver Proof Coin
This silver coin is one of 20,000 minted by Royal Australian Mint in 2012. It depicts the Mareeba Rock Wallaby. A colour overlay was added post market.
There was also a different version released which was the 2012 Mareeba Rock-wallaby Frosted Silver Uncirculated Coin. Both contain the same image of a Mareeba Rock-wallaby, but feature different finishes resulting in a unique design on each version.
Each is struck from one ounce of 99.9% pure silver and are issued as some of the first 2012 dated releases from the Royal Australian Mint (RAM).
A companion 1/10 ounce 99.99% pure gold Mareeba Rock-wallaby coin was also released.
According to the Royal Australian Mint, both the proof and the frosted uncirculated Mareeba Rock-wallaby coins will be struck to a maximum mintage of only 20,000 each.
Only 500 coins however were individually colourised post market which are the coins on offer here.
Post market colourisation is tending toward quite a trend particularly through some coin dealerships in the United States as well as Germany.
The coins are encapsulated but do not have a clam style box or a COA.
Design
Design Details:
Denomination $1
Metal 99.9% Ag
Mass 1 Troy Oz
Diameter 40.00mm
Finish Proof colourised on reverse only
Mintage 20,000
Designer W. Pietranik
Reverse: of the coins contain the Mareeba design which was completed by Wojciek Pietranik, one of the artists working with the RAM.
Pietranik was born in Poland but moved to Australia in 1985.
He has been associated with the Royal Australian Mint since 1989 and has since designed many of the commemorative coins released by the facility.
Inscriptions on the reverse of the coins include “ONE DOLLAR” and “1 OUNCE FINE SILVER.”
Obverse: HM Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley
History
Wallabies are slightly coy members of the macropod family, and the Mareeba Rock Wallaby is no exception, preferring the cover of night for its feeding and socialising most of the year round. Identifying a Mareeba Rock-Wallaby can be difficult without the help of a microscope. Mareeba Rock Wallabies are almost indistinguishable from several other “ Petrogale” species, including Sharman’s Rock Wallaby and the Allied Rock Wallaby.
These endearing Australians all have long flexible tails and well-adapted feet for hopping over rocky terrain. The Mareeba Rock-Wallaby’s most significant distinction is the distribution, the shape and number of their chromosomes. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Mareeba Rock-Wallaby, named after an area in Queensland where it is found, was declared a separate species.