2014-P Australia Silver Land Down Under Gold Rush 1 oz Proof
A certificate accompanies this 2014 coin from The Land Down Under series. Struck by The Perth Mint from 1oz of 99.9% pure silver in proof quality, the coin is issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.
The famed Australian gold rush of 1851 triggered a period of radical transformation for the remote penal colony. The population and the economy boomed at an unprecedented rate, bringing about new towns, cities, trade, cultures and infrastructure, seemingly overnight.
Although there had been isolated reports of gold findings in Australia since the 1820s, it wasn't until February 1851 when Edward Hammond Hargraves discovered gold in a waterhole near Bathurst, New South Wales, that the frenzied hunt for gold gripped the country.
Having just arrived home from the gold rush in California, Hargraves was struck by the similarity of the quartz outcrops and gullies west of the Blue Mountains to those found in the American goldfields. His observations proved correct, and he reported his findings to the authorities. It didn't take long for the word to spread, and within days hundreds of diggers flocked to the area in the hope of striking it rich.
As the rush exploded in New South Wales, Victorian authorities found themselves faced with a decreasing population as thousands of locals headed north to seek their fortune. The encourage people to stay in Victoria, a reward of ?200 was offered for any gold found within 200 miles of Melbourne, and so, just six months after Hargraves' discovery gold was found at Ballarat, Buninyong and Bendigo.
Gold fever had swept the land and the flow of diggers to these neighboring colonies did not slow. First they came from the other settlements, and then in 1852. 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia and the economy flourished.
It soon became evident that the number of immigrants far outweighed the total number of convicts that alighted in the 70 years prior. From 1851 to 1871, Australia's population trebled from 430,000 to 1.7 million. The transportation of convicts to the penal colony soon ceased, as the land down under was considered a wealthy and alluring place to live.
New South Wales produced 850,000 ounces of gold in 1852, while Victoria contributed more than one third of the world's gold output at the time yielding 250,000 ounces by the end of 1851. Gold was then discovered in Queensland in the 1860s, in South Australian in the 1870s, and in Western Australia during the 1880s and 1890s.
Despite gold being found across the land, it was the discovery by Patrick Hannan at Kalgoorlie in 1893 that ultimately resulted in Australia becoming the world's largest gold producer at the turn of the century, with half of its output mined in Western Australia.
The impact of the gold rush on the nation's economy, development and population was astounding. It generated financial viability, advances in infrastructure, local legislatures and land policies, while immigrants brought with the new skills, professions and cultural diversity.
The reverse of the coin depicts a prospector panning for gold on the banks of a colored river scene, framed within the shape of Australia. The inscription THE LAND DOWN UNDER also appears in the design with The Perth Mint's 'P' mintmark and the weight and fineness of the coin.
The obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the monetary denomination and the 2014 year-date.
The Perth Mint will release no more than 5,000 of The Land Down Under - Gold Rush 1oz Silver Proof Coins.

Perfect Proof Condition with Original Mint Box & Certificate of Authenticity.