Part of the Perth Mint's ongoing Australian Antarctic Territory wildlife series, this issue uses pad printing — a process borrowed from industrial manufacturing — to apply color directly onto the struck surface, a technique the Perth Mint was among the first government-affiliated facilities to deploy on bullion and collector coinage in the early 2000s. The leopard seal, one of the apex predators of the Antarctic pack ice, was a logical subject for the series, though its selection also reflected growing scientific attention to Southern Ocean ecosystems following Australia's expanded territorial research commitments in the late 20th century.
Part of the Perth Mint's ongoing Australian Antarctic Territory wildlife series, this issue uses pad printing — a process borrowed from industrial manufacturing — to apply color directly onto the struck surface, a technique the Perth Mint was among the first government-affiliated facilities to deploy on bullion and collector coinage in the early 2000s. The leopard seal, one of the apex predators of the Antarctic pack ice, was a logical subject for the series, though its selection also reflected growing scientific attention to Southern Ocean ecosystems following Australia's expanded territorial research commitments in the late 20th century.