100 Dollars - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait - Year of the Monkey - Gold Proof High Relief

Australia's lunar series coins are struck by the Perth Mint under its own authority rather than as Royal Australian Mint issues, a distinction that matters for collectors tracking the two parallel Australian coinage programs. The 2016 Year of the Monkey marks the second full cycle of the Perth lunar series, which began in 2008 — the first cycle having run from 1996 through 2007.

High relief strikings of this type require multiple hammer blows from carefully prepared dies, limiting production runs considerably. The 27.3 mm diameter is notably compact for a one-troy-ounce gold proof, a deliberate choice to achieve the pronounced relief depth.