Australian silver kookaburras come in four sizes at:

•    1 ounce
•    2 ounces
•    10 ounces
•    35.5 ounces or the world’s largest one kilo bullions!

Similar to other Australian wildlife coins, the obverse of the Silver Australian Kookaburra coin bears the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.

The first Australian Kookaburra coins were minted in 1990. It was released in the numismatic market in two kinds – the standard bullion issue and the proof coin.

The two Kookaburra coin varieties can be distinguished from each other through numerous factors. Some wildlife coin collectors still get confused among the two. Consider these facts:

All Kookaburra coins are bullions and not meant for general circulation. Hence, a standard issue non-proof pure Silver Kookaburra coin remains in BU (bright uncirculated) condition because its owner will always keep it protected. Who would want scratches on his or her coin? The kookaburra coins are too beautiful to devalue!

Moreover, the non-proof BU Kookaburra coins have an uncommon “reverse proof-like” finish.  They have a frosted background or field, and shiny foreground or devices (the kookaburra imprint).

On the other hand, kookaburra proof coins are minted in special dyes, polished, and acid-etched to give it a mirror finish on the background. The foreground will now have a frosted finish. Each Silver Kookaburra proof is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity.

Still confused what Silver Kookaburra coin you have? The other way of determining if your Australian silver Kookaburra is a proof coin or just a regular issue in BU condition bullion, is by looking at its design. Each year, the .999 fine kookaburras change designs. And every annual issue has a different design for the proof and standard Kookaburra coin.

 

Year	Proof Design	BU standard issue design
1990	Beak down	Sitting on a stump
1991	Beak up	Beak down
1992	Feeding babies	Beak up
1993	Two on branch	Feeding babies
1994	Looking to left	Two on branch
1995	In flight	Looking to left
1996	With babies	In flight
1997	Sitting on a branch	With babies
1998	Big and small kookaburra	Sitting on a branch
1999	With clump of leaves	Big and small kookaburra
2000	Two birds on a branch	With clump of leaves
2001	With Australian map	Two birds on a branch
2002	Leaning to the right	With Australian map
2003	One in flight, other one at rest	Leaning to the right
2004	Resting on diagonal branch	One in flight, other one at rest
2005	Two birds, one with raised head	Resting on diagonal branch
2006	Branch half-submerged in water	Two birds, one with raised head
2007	On barbed wire with spider web	Branch half-submerged in water