This one hundred Dollar gold
proof
coin issued in 1998 was the fourth to be released from a series of nine entitled
Floral Emblems of Australia
. The set was released between the years of 1995 and 2003 with a coin featuring the floral emblem of each state as well as the Commonwealth, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. This particular coin features Sturts Desert Pea, which is the floral emblem of South Australia. Each emblem of the entire series is represented on three different coins. The first is a $150 half Troy ounce
proof
coin and the remaining two are both $100 one-third Troy ounce proof coins, one of which is an
uncirculated
version.
(Royal Australian Mint, 2002)
With regards to the $100 coins there was a limited
mintage
of 2500 for the standard proof and 3000 for the uncirculated proof. Credit for the design of the
reverse
of this coin goes to Horst Hahne.
The design is very simple and features Sturts Desert Pea, which takes up the majority of the space. The
legend
100 DOLLARS
is curved beneath the flower following the shape of the coin. The
obverse
features the Raphael Maklouf portrait of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and is surrounded by the
legend
that reads
ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 1998
. The $100 coins were issued in a plush burgundy presentation case and accompanying it was a Certificate of Authenticity and booklet of information pertaining to the different floral emblems. The outer box was also a burgundy colour and features the text
FLORAL EMBLEMS OF AUSTRALIA
written above a picture of the flower represented within. Below was written
1998 $100 GOLD UNCIRCULATED
or
PROOF
accordingly.
Sturts Desert Pea, known by some scientifically as
swainsona formosa
was named after a man called Isaac Swainson, who was an English botanist. The more common name of sturts Desert Pea is in honour of the explorer Charles Sturt whose diaries of exploration around central Australia frequently mentions his sightings of the flower.
(Wikipedia, 2013)
It has very distinctive, bright red leaves with a bulbous black centre and is one of the more famous of Australia's wildflowers. It thrives in arid regions including central, north western and South Australia. It's striking appearance has made it a regular subject of artwork, aboriginal legend and even prose and in 1961 it became the floral emblem of South Australia.
MintageAU50AU55AU58MS64MS65MS66MS67MS68MS691998 1,501MintagePR65DCAMPR66DCAMPR67DCAMPR68DCAMPR69DCAMPR70DCAM1998 Proof1,866Values are in AUD and are retail price estimations based on past sales of coins certified by PCGS or NGC and as such values only related to such graded coins. Uncertified coins or coins graded by other services would likely be worth significantly less. For wholesale pricing please refer to the Red Sheet. While all attempts to ensure accurate pricing, data entry errors can occur and as such no warranty is expressed or implied as to the accuracy of any information published on this website. It is important to verify all published sales to ensure the accuracy of the pricing when making any purchase decision. Any personal information provided to us is protected by the Privacy Act 1988.