5 Dollars - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait - Kip - Koala, Gold Bullion Proof

The "Kip" koala — so nicknamed for its weight of one-quarter troy ounce's quarter again, a full gram and a touch — was introduced by the Royal Australian Mint as the smallest denomination in its gold bullion proof program, pitched directly at entry-level collectors priced out of the flagship one-ounce issues. The 2008 date places it squarely in the period when gold was climbing toward its then-record breach of $1,000 USD per troy ounce, making the economics of a sub-1.5 gram proof piece briefly awkward for the Mint's pricing model.

KM#1066 is the catalogue anchor for this specific portrait-and-denomination pairing under Ian Rank-Broadley's effigy, the fourth definitive portrait of Elizabeth II adopted by Australian coinage from 1999 onward.