The Perth Mint's platinum koala series launched in 1988, making it one of the earliest government-issued platinum bullion programs globally — predating many sovereign competitors. By the mid-to-late 1990s, platinum was trading at or near parity with gold, which kept premiums on these fractional pieces sharp and demand from Japanese investors particularly strong.
KM# 338 covers the 1997–1998 issues under Ian Rank-Broadley's third effigy, adopted across Australian coinage from 1998. The 1997 pieces thus represent the final year of the Raphael Maklouf portrait on this denomination before the transition.
The Perth Mint's platinum koala series launched in 1988, making it one of the earliest government-issued platinum bullion programs globally — predating many sovereign competitors. By the mid-to-late 1990s, platinum was trading at or near parity with gold, which kept premiums on these fractional pieces sharp and demand from Japanese investors particularly strong.
KM# 338 covers the 1997–1998 issues under Ian Rank-Broadley's third effigy, adopted across Australian coinage from 1998. The 1997 pieces thus represent the final year of the Raphael Maklouf portrait on this denomination before the transition.