(Image: Apmex)

The Australian Perth Mint released last week a new 1 oz silver coin to mark the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the largest gold nugget ever found in the entire world.

Miner John Deason and Richard Oates discovered in February of 1869 the biggest alluvial Gold nugget in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.

Named “Welcome Stranger”, the gold nugget was found only 3 cm below the surface of the ground near a base of a tree and had a gross weight of 109.59 kilograms. Because of its large weight, they had to break it down into pieces for it to fit on the scales at a bank in Dunolly. It had a net weight of 72.02 kilos.

The new silver coin portrays the Welcome Stranger nugget. The obverse of the coin features the design of Welcome Stranger nugget and its discovery date 1869. The current date and .9999 fine silver content were also engraved on the obverse. The reverse of the coin displays the Jody Clark’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

This coin has a limited mintage of 30000 coins.

Sources: Coins Week, Apmex