150 Years of Caring for Animals Down Under

If you like to collect colorful coins and want to support the care and wellbeing of animals this is your lucky day! The Royal Australian Mint has launched a wonderful collector coin program featuring loveable animals in stylish packaging with a funding element designed to lend support to the venerable RSPCA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

One dollar from each sale of every one of the RAM RSPCA 150^th Anniversary coins in this series will go to funding this essential organization. Leigh Gordon, CEO of the Royal Australian Mint expressed his pride in releasing a coin that can help make a difference to animal welfare, and that recognizes the RSPCA’s significant role in this area.

“The work of the thousands of RSPCA staff and volunteers across Australia who work tirelessly to promote animal care and protection, deserves to be given the rare opportunity for their work to be recognized on Australia’s legal tender,” said Mr Gordon. “We hope this coin will help raise awareness of the value of animals – big and small – and encourage Australians to make a difference for animals by donating to RSPCA.”

Founded in a London coffee shop in 1824, the RSPCA was first established in Australia in 1871 following a public meeting to discuss the welfare of horses in Victoria. It is Australia’s oldest and largest animal welfare organization, and one of Australia’s most trusted charities. It is an independent, community-based charity providing animal care and protection services across the country.

As a federated organization, the RSPCA’s member societies in each state and territory run animal rehoming shelters, investigate and prosecute animal cruelty complaints, and educate the community on animal welfare and responsible pet ownership.

“The 150th anniversary of the RSPCA is a chance for us to reflect on our great breadth of work, and the extraordinary people who make it possible,” said RSPCA Australia, CEO Richard Mussell. “It’s also a chance to reflect on the proud history of the RSPCA, what has been achieved in that time, and also to look forward to the future and what still needs to be done to end animal cruelty.”

The RAM designed this coin program in consultation with RSPCA, ensuring that the focus stays steadfastly on the goal of caring for animals. Each coin features colorful creatures great and small including a cat, layer hen, dog, dolphin, horse, lizard, guinea pig and of course a wombat.

The coins are embellished with the RSPCA logo incused into the curvy relief feature. They include the inscription 150 YEARS in celebration of the RSPCA’s 150th anniversary in 2021.

This thoughtfully designed coin program includes:

• Seven individual $1 Colored Frosted Uncirculated Coins, excluding the wombat, each in a display Card featuring a picture of the loveable animal honored. These will be sold individually with a limited mintage of 22,500 each. Suggested retail is about $12.50.

• You can buy the full set, including the wombat, in an Eight-coin Collection Box, with a limited mintage of 10,000 at a suggested retail price of about $90.00. Remember, this is the only way you can collect the wombat coin.

• A $1 Colored Frosted Uncirculated Coin in Card featuring farm animals with a limited mintage of 10,000 at a suggested retail price of about $12.50. This coin will only be available directly from the RAM and the RSPCA sales outlets.

The seven initial coins in display card can be purchased from the Royal Australian Mint’s eShop at www.eshop.ramint.gov.au or if you happen to be in Australia you can purchase these cute little gems at one of the many RAM authorized dealers or through the Mint’s Call Centre (1300 652 020).

The two toughest coins to acquire, with mintages of only 10,000 each, will be the wombat, only available in the complete boxed set and the farm animals, which must be obtained directly from the RAM or the RSPCA.