Waratah

This one hundred Dollar gold proof coin issued in 1995 was the first 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 the Waratah, which is the floral emblem of New South Wales. 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 the New South Wales Waratah, 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 1995 . 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 1995 $100 GOLD UNCIRCULATED or PROOF accordingly.

The Waratah or sometimes even the New South Wales Waratah is the more common name for the shrubs scientific name of Telopea Speciosissima. It is endemic to the state of New South Wales and in 1962 it was officially named as the states emblem, although it had been used informally as such for many years prior to that. (Wikipedia, 2013) It is a fairly large shrub at around 4 metres high and has dark green leaves and a woody base. In the springtime it produces vibrant dark red flowerheads, each of which contains hundreds of florets. It is these stunning flowerheads that makes the Waratah so striking. It is regularly featured in the works of various artists and in folklore stories and has over a very long period of time become symbolic of New South Wales.