The "1st Portrait" designation marks the first Perth Mint gold issues to carry the Dolores Godbehere effigy of Charles III, approved by Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mint in 2023 to replace the Jody Clark portrait used during Elizabeth II's later reign and carried briefly into the transitional issues. Perth adopted it later than some Commonwealth mints, making the early-dated Australian bullion releases with this effigy a distinct collecting category. High-relief proof production at Perth is mechanically demanding — the dies strike each planchet multiple times at reduced speed, and yields per die are substantially lower than for standard proofs.
The "1st Portrait" designation marks the first Perth Mint gold issues to carry the Dolores Godbehere effigy of Charles III, approved by Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mint in 2023 to replace the Jody Clark portrait used during Elizabeth II's later reign and carried briefly into the transitional issues. Perth adopted it later than some Commonwealth mints, making the early-dated Australian bullion releases with this effigy a distinct collecting category. High-relief proof production at Perth is mechanically demanding — the dies strike each planchet multiple times at reduced speed, and yields per die are substantially lower than for standard proofs.