1 oz Emu Perth Mint Gold Coin | 2026

1 oz Emu Gold Coin The Perth Mint 2026 — the second animal of Australia's coat of arms (alongside the kangaroo) on a bullion ounce with 999.9 fineness

The 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026 gold coin is a bullion coin with a mass of 31.1035 g (1 troy oz), a fineness of 999.9/1000 (fine gold), a 32.1 mm diameter, a thickness of approximately 2.8 mm and a 100 AUD face value as legal tender of Australia. The obverse features the Charles III portrait by Jody Clark — the 2026 vintage is the third year of production with this image since its introduction in 2024. The reverse features the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) — the second animal of Australia's coat of arms (alongside the kangaroo), the largest bird of Australia and the second largest living flightless bird in the world after the African ostrich. The Perth Mint Australian Emu series was launched in 2018 as a 1 oz silver coin (Coin Show Australia), then expanded with gold fractions. The coin is VAT-exempt in the EU as a legal-tender coin with a fineness of 999.9 well above the 900/1000 minimum, with a typical market premium of 4-7% over spot, holds Perth Mint LBMA accreditation dating back to 1899 — the oldest active LBMA status among active mints producing gold bullion.

Technical specification

Why 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026 deserves a place in your portfolio

• The second animal of Australia's coat of arms — a complementary symbol to the kangaroo: The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) together with the kangaroo (Macropus rufus) has been on the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Australia since 1908 — the choice of both animals is justified by the fact that neither can walk backwards, which became an allegory of the national motto "Australia only forward" (Advance Australia). For an Australian gold portfolio, the Emu complements the Kangaroo as the second heraldic symbol of the country — the complete set of Commonwealth of Australia heraldry.
• An unusual bullion motif — an alternative to mainstream Maple/Eagle/Krugerrand: 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026 offers a motif rarer than the canonical series Maple Leaf (maple leaf), American Eagle (eagle head) or Krugerrand (springbok antelope). For collectors seeking iconographic diversification of a bullion portfolio — without losing LBMA status and full secondary liquidity — the Emu is a rational choice combining 999.9 purity with motif uniqueness.
• Fineness 999.9 and 31.1035 g of fine gold — full 1 oz without excess: The coin contains 31.1035 g of fine gold at fineness 999.9 (four nines). Unlike Crown Gold alloy coins (916.7 — Krugerrand, Sovereign) or 22-karat (American Eagle 0.9167 with gross excess 33.93 g), Emu at pure fineness 999.9 has a gross mass = fine gold mass = 31.1035 g, simplifying the spot value calculation and the EU VAT exemption.
• Perth Mint LBMA Good Delivery since 1899 — the oldest active status: Perth Mint holds an uninterrupted LBMA Good Delivery status since 1899 — the oldest active mint and refinery on the LBMA list producing gold bullion. The mint operates in Crawley (suburb of Perth, Western Australia) as a Royal Mint Branch Mint established in 1899 to serve the Kalgoorlie gold rush and is currently owned by the Government of Western Australia (Gold Corporation).
• Premium 4-7% over spot — typical for 1 oz Perth Mint bullion: 1 oz Emu Perth Mint has a market premium of typically 4-7% over spot — comparable with 1 oz Australian Kangaroo (4-7%), slightly higher than 1 oz Maple Leaf (3-5%) or 1 oz Krugerrand (3-6%), but significantly lower than 1 oz thematic semi-collector coins (10-25%). This positions Emu in the full-liquidity bullion segment, with a premium justified by the Perth Mint status and 999.9 fineness.

History of the Perth Mint Australian Emu series — from 2018 to global bullion 2026

The Perth Mint Australian Emu series was launched in 2018 as a 1 oz silver coin first presented at Coin Show Australia. The first 1 oz silver issue Emu 2018 met with a very good reception in the collector market — low mintages (typically 30 000-50 000 silver pieces) ensured a quick sell-out and a rise in secondary premium. The success of the silver issue prompted Perth Mint to expand the series with gold fractions in subsequent vintages — initially 1 oz gold, later also 1/10 oz and 1/4 oz.

Australian Emu is the second strictly animal Perth Mint series after the flagship Australian Kangaroo series (since 1989/1990, previously Australian Nugget 1986-1989). Earlier, Perth Mint also issued the animal series Australian Kookaburra (since 1990, mostly silver with selected gold issues) and Australian Koala (since 2007, mostly platinum). The Emu series complements the Perth Mint animal portfolio with the second heraldic bird of Australia — which together with the Kangaroo constitutes the complete set of Commonwealth of Australia heraldry (federal coat of arms 1908).

Perth Mint was founded in 1899 as the third branch of the British Royal Mint (after Sydney 1855 and Melbourne 1872) — in response to the Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie gold mining boom in Western Australia (Golden Mile, one of the largest gold-mining areas in the world). Perth Mint has held the LBMA Good Delivery accreditation continuously since 1899 — the oldest active status on the LBMA list among active mints and refineries producing gold bullion. The mint operates in Crawley (suburb of Perth, Western Australia) and since 1970 is owned by the Government of Western Australia (Gold Corporation).

The annual change of the Emu motif on the reverse is a key feature of the series — distinguishing it from the fixed images of competing bullion series (Maple Leaf, Britannia, Krugerrand). Each vintage features a different image or scene with the Emu — Emu running (full figure profile), Emu with chicks (the male incubates the eggs and cares for the chicks — an inversion of gender roles in Emu nature), Emu against an Australian landscape (bush, Outback desert), or Emu in Aboriginal stylization (Dreamtime motifs, dot patterns).

The Australian Emu production cycle includes basic formats: 1 oz gold, 1/4 oz gold, 1/10 oz gold as well as silver issues 1 oz and larger formats (2 oz, 5 oz, 10 oz silver). The Emu gold formats have face values according to the Perth Mint standard for 999.9 investment coins — 1 oz = 100 AUD, 1/4 oz = 25 AUD, 1/10 oz = 15 AUD. Designers of the annual motifs are Perth Mint chief engravers — in recent years including Lucas Bowers, Ing Ing Jong, and Natasha Muhl.

Obverse — Charles III by Jody Clark (since 2024)

The obverse of the 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026 features the portrait of King Charles III designed by Jody Clark. The image was introduced by Perth Mint in 2024 — the 2026 vintage is the third year of production of Australian Emu coins with the Charles III portrait (years 2024, 2025, 2026). Earlier vintages (through 2023 inclusive) featured the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley (V Commonwealth Portrait, used in Australia since 1998), as well as earlier portraits (Raphael Maklouf 1985-1998, Arnold Machin 1968-1984).

Charles III is shown in left profile — direction in line with Commonwealth coin tradition that changes with each monarch. Around the portrait is the inscription CHARLES III · AUSTRALIA · 100 DOLLARS · 2026 — face value in Australian dollars (1 oz = 100 AUD as legal tender of Australia), the issuer-country designation and the year of minting. Although Charles III is the King of the United Kingdom and the entire Commonwealth, Australia, as a constitutional monarchy, uses the image of the British monarch on its legal-tender coins — a tradition dating back to the Royal Mint Act 1816 and continued after the Australia Act 1986.

Jody Clark (b. 1981) — British Royal Mint designer, author of the 5th official portrait of Elizabeth II from 2015 used on the coins of the United Kingdom and selected Commonwealth countries through 2022. Clark also created the official Charles III portrait for Perth Mint (started in 2024) — the image differs from the Charles III portrait by Martin Jennings used by the Royal Mint, because Perth Mint commissioned Clark with a separate design preserving the stylistic continuity of the earlier Elizabeth II portraits by the same designer. Clark's choice was justified by his familiarity with Perth Mint formats and the stylistics of the mint's earlier collaboration with the Royal Mint.

The Charles III portrait on Perth Mint Australian Emu coins shows the king bareheaded, with subtly marked facial features and hair — in the stylistics of a classical monarchical portrait, continuing the tradition of Elizabeth II from the V Commonwealth Portrait (Rank-Broadley 1998). The artist's signature "JC" appears discreetly below the portrait, on the rim of the obverse field — in accordance with the convention of signing monarchical portraits on Commonwealth coins.

Reverse — Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), second animal of Australia's coat of arms

The reverse of the 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026 features the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) — an annual motif designed by Perth Mint chief engravers. Typically the vintage motif presents the full bird running (full figure profile, characteristic of the Emu's long stride), Emu in the Australian landscape (bush, Outback desert, red earth of the Great Victoria Desert), or Emu with chicks (the male incubates the eggs for 56 days and cares for the chicks for 7 months — an inversion of gender roles in Emu nature). Around the Emu figure is the inscription AUSTRALIAN EMU · 1 OZ · 9999 GOLD · 2026 on the rim of the coin.

The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) — the largest bird of Australia and the second largest living flightless bird in the world after the African ostrich (Struthio camelus). Height 1.5-1.9 m, mass 30-50 kg, running speed up to 50 km/h. Endemic to the Australian continent (except Tasmania, where it went extinct in the 19th century) — it occurs throughout continental Australia, from the western bush through the central deserts to the northern savannas. Dromaius novaehollandiae is the only living representative of the family Dromaiidae — the King Island Emu (Dromaius minor) and the Kangaroo Island Emu (Dromaius baudinianus) went extinct in the 19th century after the arrival of Europeans.

Emu symbolism in Australian culture includes two key themes. First — heraldic: The Emu together with the kangaroo has been on the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Australia since 1908 (designed by Edward Ironside). Both animals were chosen as the symbol of the federation because neither of them can walk backwards — which became an allegory of the national motto "Australia only forward" (Advance Australia). The second theme — Aboriginal: The Emu (Tjilbruke in Kaurna mythology, Daramulan in the mythology of Eastern Australian peoples) is one of the key Dreamtime totems, associated with the path of the Milky Way in the night sky (Aborigines interpret the Milky Way as the silhouette of an Emu against the stars).

The annual change of the Emu motif is designed by Perth Mint chief engravers — in recent years including Lucas Bowers, Ing Ing Jong, and Natasha Muhl. Each motif goes through the approval process of the Perth Mint board of directors and the Australian Department of the Treasury (as the legal-tender issuer) before being struck in full mintage. The full Emu figure — with characteristic small head, long neck, large body covered with dark brown feathers and strong legs with three toes — requires engraving precision available in the 999.9 alloy (four nines), softer than 22-karat but allowing for the finesse of anatomical detail.

What to look out for when buying

Check the vintage of the Australian Emu coin — the 2026 issue is the specific motif of the 2026 vintage (Emu running, Emu with chicks, Emu in landscape, or Aboriginal motif — depending on the Perth Mint design for that year). Other vintages feature different motifs: each year since 2018 (silver) and subsequent years (gold) has a different Emu image on the reverse. When buying, the distinction between specific vintages (e.g. 2026) and Mix Years offers (random vintage) is important — Mix Years is typically cheaper by 1-2% premium but does not allow control over the image acquired.

The market premium on 1 oz Australian Emu typically holds in the range of 4-7% over spot — comparable with 1 oz Australian Kangaroo (4-7%), slightly higher than 1 oz Maple Leaf (3-5%) or 1 oz Krugerrand (3-6%). The 4-7% premium is standard for 1 oz Perth Mint bullion — it results from the reputation of the LBMA mint since 1899 and the high quality of the issue. When assessing the premium, it is worth comparing to the current AUD spot and converting to PLN/EUR — currency conversion affects the effective end premium.

CGT status in the United Kingdom — Australian Emu is NOT CGT-free in the UK, as the CGT-free status applies exclusively to British legal-tender coins (Royal Mint Britannia, Sovereign, Tudor Beasts, Queens Beasts). Australian Emu as Australian legal tender (100 AUD) does not benefit from the CGT-free status, despite LBMA accreditation and the high fineness of 999.9. For EU residents (Poland, Germany) this aspect is irrelevant — VAT exempt applies, and UK CGT does not concern continental taxpayers.

Check the condition of the coin — Australian Emu at the fineness 999.9 is pure gold, soft and prone to surface scratching. Each Perth Mint coin is delivered in an individual capsule protecting the surface from contact with fingers and air. When buying second-hand, it is worth checking the integrity of the capsule and the absence of scratches and abrasions on the coin's fields — especially on the Charles III portrait and the Emu image, where the engraving is most detailed.

Why GoldInvest24

• Manufacturers with LBMA accreditation: in our catalogue you will find coins and bars from mints accredited by the London Bullion Market Association — Perth Mint holds LBMA Good Delivery status since 1899, the oldest active status among active mints and refineries producing gold bullion.
• Full range of Perth Mint formats: Australian Kangaroo series (1/20, 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, 1 oz), Australian Emu (1/10, 1/4, 1 oz), Lunar Series III (1 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/10 oz) — facilitates building a balanced Perth Mint coin portfolio with various motifs.
• PL / DE / EN language versions: full technical descriptions and specifications in three languages for convenient service of the Polish, German, and international markets.
• Current precious-metals quotes: spot data for comparing offer prices with the current market valuation — check the current precious-metals prices before purchase.
• Full precious-metal categories in one shop: access to gold bullion coins, bars, silver, platinum and palladium — all from a single customer account.

Comparison of 5 coins — Emu, Armillary Sphere, Bitcoin, Maple Leaf and Britannia

See the entire gold bullion coins category available at GoldInvest24.

FAQ — common questions about the 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026

What is the 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026?

The 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026 is a bullion coin with a mass of 31.1035 g (1 troy oz), a fineness of 999.9/1000, a 32.1 mm diameter and a 100 AUD face value as legal tender of Australia. The reverse features the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) — the second animal of Australia's coat of arms (alongside the kangaroo) on the Commonwealth of Australia coat of arms since 1908. The obverse features Charles III by Jody Clark (since 2024 — vintage 2026 = 3rd year of production). The Perth Mint Australian Emu series was launched in 2018 as 1 oz silver, expanded with gold fractions in subsequent years.

What is the technical specification of the 1 oz Emu Perth 2026?

Mass 31.1035 g (1 troy oz), fineness 999.9/1000 (fine gold), diameter 32.1 mm, thickness approx. 2.8 mm, face value 100 AUD (legal tender Australia). Obverse: Charles III by Jody Clark (since 2024). Reverse: Emu — annual motif by Perth Mint chief engravers (Lucas Bowers, Ing Ing Jong, Natasha Muhl). Inscription: AUSTRALIAN EMU · 1 OZ · 9999 GOLD · 2026.

What is the history of the Perth Mint Australian Emu series?

The series was launched in 2018 as a 1 oz silver coin at Coin Show Australia, then expanded with gold fractions. The second animal Perth Mint series after the Kangaroo (1989/1990), complementing the mint's animal portfolio with the second heraldic bird of Australia. The annual change of the Emu motif on the reverse — distinguishes it from the fixed images of competing bullion series. Perth Mint LBMA Good Delivery since 1899, the oldest active status.

Why is the Emu the second animal on Australia's coat of arms?

The Emu and the kangaroo have been on the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Australia since 1908 (designed by Edward Ironside). Both animals were chosen as the symbol of the federation because neither of them can walk backwards — an allegory of the national motto "Australia only forward" (Advance Australia). The Emu is the largest bird of Australia and the second largest living flightless bird in the world after the African ostrich. Endemic to the Australian continent, the only living representative of the family Dromaiidae.

How does 1 oz Emu differ from 1 oz Kangaroo, Maple Leaf and Britannia?

1 oz Emu (Perth Mint, since 2018) — the second animal of Australia's coat of arms, annual motif, premium 4-7%. 1 oz Kangaroo (Perth Mint, since 1989/1990) — first heraldic symbol of Australia, annual motif, premium 4-7%. 1 oz Maple Leaf (RCM, since 1979) — fixed maple leaf, fineness 999.9 since 1982, premium 3-5%. 1 oz Britannia (Royal Mint, since 1987) — fixed personification of UK, 999.9 since 2013, CGT-free in UK. Emu is the rarer unusual Perth Mint alternative to mainstream bullion series.

What is the LBMA, VAT, CGT, and IRA status of the 1 oz Emu?

LBMA Good Delivery — YES (Perth Mint since 1899, the oldest active). VAT in the EU — EXEMPT (legal-tender coin, fineness 999.9 well above 900, struck after 1800 — Directive 2006/112/EC Art. 344). CGT-free in the UK — NO (applies only to British legal tender, Australian Emu as Australian legal tender). IRA-eligible in the USA — NO (IRS does not approve Australian Emu).

How to buy 1 oz Emu Perth Mint 2026 at GoldInvest24?

Place an order in our shop with access to the gold bullion coins category, the full range of the Perth Mint Australian Emu series (1/10, 1/4, 1 oz) and LBMA mints. Check the current gold quotes to compare the premium with the current spot price. Technical descriptions and specifications available in PL / DE / EN.