World's Biggest Gold Coin Minted In Australia

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World's Biggest Gold Coin Minted In Australia

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday October 27, 2011 @08:31PM from the because-they-can dept.

First time accepted submitter shocking writes "The Perth Mint has created a gold coin that is just over one tonne in weight and worth over 50 million AUD. From the article: 'A team of a dozen people have worked since late last year to create the coin which measures 80 centimeters wide and 12 centimeters deep, featuring a kangaroo on one side and the Queen's motif on the other.' Ron Paul eat your heart out!"

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Gold coins are so last century by SharkLaser · 2011-10-27 20:32 · Score: 3, Informative

Now we mine BitCoins!
1. Re:Gold coins are so last century by jpapon · 2011-10-27 20:56 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Because while you are producing the coins, you're not really "minting" them. Rather, you're searching for them in a heap of worthless other stuff... i.e. mining. At least that's my take on it. Honestly it's just pointless metaphor semantics.
  
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2. Re:Gold coins are so last century by maxwell+demon · 2011-10-27 22:46 · Score: 2
  
  You may "mine" for some numbers with certain mathematical properties, but those numbers by themselves are not bitcoins. You must convert them into a special form recognized by the BitCoin system. In other words, you must "mint" them. The numbers are the material from which the bitcoins are minted.
  
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  The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Now they need to... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-27 20:37 · Score: 5, Funny

...build the world's biggest couch so it can fall between the cushions.
Well shit... by moozey · 2011-10-27 20:46 · Score: 2

Are they at least going to do something cool with it?
Explains a lot about the economy by SmallFurryCreature · 2011-10-27 20:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

The coin has a "worth" of 1 million AUD but contains 50 million AUD of gold...
And you wonder why the economy is down the crapper. Also... 50 million worth of gold. Perhaps some better use could be found for it then a vanity piece to show just how much Australia bows before its British superiors?
I would have shaped in the form of a blade and put it in a guillotine. Some might scoff at the sharpness of such a blade but with that weight it will do the job. Just more messily, mad max style.

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1. Re:Explains a lot about the economy by imroy · 2011-10-27 21:18 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Your economy is in the crapper, Australia's isn't. We're doing pretty well, partly thanks to our mining sector selling raw materials to China. We also had a recession back in 1987 due (from what I'm hearing now) to bad assets. It had the result of (eventually) clearing out all of those bad assets and leaving our banks stronger than before. So when the GFC hit everyone, we were able to weather it rather well. You guys haven't, and you haven't gotten rid of the toxic assets that caused it in the first place! We're all in for more pain...
2. Re:Explains a lot about the economy by JasterBobaMereel · 2011-10-27 21:22 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  In what way is this "bowing before its British superiors" ? So it has a picture of your head of state on it ...who is about as British as Angela Merkel
  
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3. Re:Explains a lot about the economy by alphatel · 2011-10-27 22:44 · Score: 2
  
  Due to fluctuations in the economy, the gold coin can be valued anywhere from $100m to $5. As it has two sides, when flipped int he air, we invoke quantum mechanics. We can see that the coin has both sides at any given times until it lands on one side, with an indeterminate value. Taking the derivative of that, the queen will surely be slain by the Kangaroo for a mere nickel.
  
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4. Re:Explains a lot about the economy by mister_playboy · 2011-10-28 00:39 · Score: 2
  
  She was born in London, which makes her British last time I checked.
  He's referring to this: The House of Windsor is the current royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War I.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Windsor
  
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Will I get any change after filling the Holden? by linatux · 2011-10-27 20:58 · Score: 2

and getting a pie n coke
Re:Featuring...what ??? by Warwick+Allison · 2011-10-27 21:00 · Score: 4, Funny

All Australian coins have Her Majesty's Royal Jowls on the Heads side. What's is conspicuously missing is the denomination (5 billion cents) on the Tails. I guess they didn't have the guts to speculate on its intrinsic value. So is it really a coin then, or just a medallion?
Change you REALLY can believe in! by rts008 · 2011-10-27 21:01 · Score: 3, Funny

*fumbles change in pocket*
"How do you get THIS in the vending machine?!?"
*cue 'Crocodile Dundee'* "No, THIS is a coin, mate!"
(My sincere apologies to Australians, but I just could not help myself. I developed a healthy respect for Aussie troops during my stint in the US Army:-)

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Interesting statistic by coldmist · 2011-10-27 21:04 · Score: 3, Interesting

From what I've read, all the gold in the world that has been mined could fill something like 2 olympic swimming pools, or something like that.
Considering this is like 32 inches x 5 inches, think of that sitting in the bottom of an olympic pool. Not too big, but still pretty impressive considering the relative size.

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1. Re:Interesting statistic by stjobe · 2011-10-27 21:49 · Score: 2
  
  From what I've read, all the gold in the world that has been mined could fill something like 2 olympic swimming pools, or something like that.
  From Wikipedia:
  
  A total of 165,000 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, as of 2009. This is roughly equivalent to 5.3 billion troy ounces or, in terms of volume, about 8500 m3, or a cube 20.4 m on a side.
  An Olympic-size swimming pool has a minimum volume requirement of 2500 m3, so 3.4 of them would be needed to hold all the gold ever mined.
  
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Douglas Adams saw this coming by Alioth · 2011-10-27 21:23 · Score: 4, Funny

It's funny how Hitch-hiker stuff seems to have a bearing on real life so often...
"...and the Triganic Pu has its own very special problems. Its exchange rate of eight Ningis to one Pu is simple enough, but since a Ningi is a triangular rubber coin six thousand eight hundred miles along each side, no one has ever collected enough to own one Pu. Ningis are not negotiable currency, because the Galactibanks refuse to deal in fiddling small change"
And I bet the banks would refuse to deal with this gigantic gold coin.

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Density by Pence128 · 2011-10-27 21:39 · Score: 2, Interesting

It's about the size of a garbage can lid. Gives you a bit of perspective on the density of gold.

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Re:Not the biggest coins... by OverZealous.com · 2011-10-27 22:48 · Score: 2

Not to be rude, but the title, summary, and article specifically say biggest gold coin. Nothing actually says biggest coin outright.
It's not a coin. Perhaps a medal by HBI · 2011-10-28 00:02 · Score: 2

Coins are struck on presses with dies and planchets. This is cast. The relief is very high: this item would not stack. It really resembles a medal more than a coin.
I would have been much more impressed if they had constructed a press with sufficient power to strike such a large coin.

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