50 Dollars - Elizabeth II 3rd Portrait - Australian Nugget - Gold Bullion Coin

The Australian Nugget series launched in 1986 as a direct challenge to the South African Krugerrand's dominance of the global gold bullion market — a market that had cracked open for competitors when anti-apartheid sanctions made Krugerrand imports illegal in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia itself. The Perth Mint, dormant as a bullion producer for decades, was revived specifically for this purpose.

The 1988 issue depicts the Welcome Stranger nugget, the largest alluvial gold nugget ever found — unearthed in Victoria in 1869 at a depth of just three centimeters below the surface.