So while the world has been sh-tting itself, I have managed to pick up a few coins along the way.
The one I would like to share with you today is the 2020 Australian Brumby.
This brilliant uncirculated coin is a product of the world famous Perth Mint. The coin weighs 1oz and is .9999 pure. It has a limited mintage of just 25,000. The obverse features the image of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse features a brumby, the iconic wild horse of Australia.
Being married to an Aussie I have a special love for Perth Mint coins. They often feature the nation’s most beautiful creatures. Each coin reminds me of family and memories of my favorite Australian places.
Horses first came to Australia with the arrival of European settlers. Over the years, they escaped domestication and began forming large wild herds in the Australian bush. These brumbies, as they came to be known, are particularly prevalent in Australia’s snowy alpine region which includes Kosciuszko National Park.
A 1982 movie titled The Man from Snowy River, based off the A.B. Banjo Patterson poem of the same name, introduced the Australian brumby to the rest of the world. The film stared Kirk Douglas in what is essentially “an Australian western set in the 1880’s”.
The Man From Snowy River is the story of young Jim Craig who was born and raised in the mountains. After an accident that kills his father that also leads to Jim’s horse escaping to run free with a pack of wild horses, Jim must leave the family homestead to seek work and respect in the lowlands. Source
The image of the wild brumby is so iconic, as is the music from the film, that both were featured in the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.
Despite the horse’s cultural significance, it is still considered an invasive species. This is particularly evident in the high country where herds have damaged water catchments and native flora. As result, ongoing culls are common in the Australian Capital Territory and the state of Victoria.
However, the state of New South Wales passed a bill banning lethal culls. Since the bill’s passage brumby numbers have increased exponentially. This has further exacerbated the damage caused to the Australian landscape, pitting lovers of brumbies against environmental ministers in years long legal battles.
Adding to the tenuous future of the brumby, this year’s bushfires appear to have decimated thousands. Supporters of the brumbies claim that the government’s population estimates of the herds are overblown and fought unsuccessfully to stop this year’s culls. In lieu of a stay on the culls, several land owners in the area have offered to capture brumbies to allow them free roam of their private land. It is a difficult situation all around, with the wild horses stuck right in the middle.
If you are on Facebook, there are several brumby groups. This is one of my favorites. It is run by Cooma, NSW based photographers who deeply love the horses and know them well. They have the most beautiful pictures you should definitely see.
Enjoy your weekend friends!
Keep on stackin’
No, you can't go wrong with anything Perth Mint. Great product, usually low mintage. Four 9999 pure. Stack it! Thanks for bringing it, dfinney,
The Perth Mint is my fave. I would love to go and visit in person some day! Probably be bad for my wallet though. 😄
I can add anymore new series. I do have the entire Stock Horse series the Perth Mint did. They are the carded version only 1,000 of each year
I don’t even know if it’s a series. But I do like it.
Nice pickup @dfinney I should get one of those myself this year.
Didn't know there were still a lot of brumbies around, let alone the need for a culling policy!
I didn’t really either! One of our pseudo aunties in Canberra (old family friend) was sharing pictures of Brumbies from this Facebook group. So I started following the group when we got back from Aus. Partly for the horses and partly because the couple who takes their photos was doing a lot of photography of the damage done to the park and all the poor animals after the fires. Seeing those updates led me down a rabbit hole about the cullings, etc. There is also an argument against the cullings because often they might just shoot a horse and then leave it to decompose in the bush. But then that draws other critters like feral pigs to feed and then increases the pig numbers! People really like to f everything up in their attempts to fix things.
Cool horsey! Do you ride?
I know you have a special horse bond. 😉 I have only ridden a horse twice I think. I am not sure I could even haul myself up to get on one now. And what poor horse wants me breaking their back?! 😄🤣🤣
That's a awesome looking coin
I was excited to finally grab one. It kept selling out at the normal online places then was on back order for ages. Stupid covid induced high demand for silver! 😄😂😄
Very nice coin, I have seen both movies from Man From Snowy River and they are good family entertainment. Nice addition to your stack.
I ended up watching the first movie while I was writing this post! 😄 I have never seen the second one. However, this one time my husband and I were visiting his brother in Australia’s Gold Coast. The place is like the Orlando of Australia. They have this dinner show called the Australian Outback Spectacular. The thing is all horse riding and very patriotic (in an Aussie way) with this high tech immersive light show. The performance is great and the one we saw was based off the Man from Snowy River, so of course the music from the movie was heavily featured. I LOVED it. 😄
Very nice, sis! I love horses!!! Awesome specimen. Congrats adding that to your stack.
STACK ON, dear @dfinney!
Have a fantastic weekend, and take care 🥰🌺🤙
I wish I had more interaction with horses. They are so big and smart and the human horse bond can be so strong. I feel like it would be such a wonderful relationship to have a horse. However, I think the wiener dogs might be jealous. 😄😆😄
Hope you have had a good weekend.
Have you ever wondered why both our choices of furbabies are the smaller, manageable breed size? I love horses, big and strong, but the thing that comes out from their behinds are likewise as big and with stronger odors! LOL 😬😆.
Love that one @dfinny! Nice pick up!
Every time I look at it the “Man from Snowy River” main theme songs runs through my head. 😄😄
hahaha
Yes, priorities - Coins BEA :D
Pandemic online shopping! 😍
A beautifully done coin @dfinney Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure! 😊
That's really sad about the wild Brumby @dfinney. When you were over there did you see any?
So they are an invasive species....
So nice that some of the land owners are allowing them to graze on private land!
Ohh....The silver my friend.... so nice!!!!🤗
Have a good evening my friend!!!😀
Is haven’t seen them before. We weren’t too far from where they roam either, so I am kind of bummed about it.
We did however see a flock of wild emus! Can I tell you driving through the mountains and coming across 20-30 birds crossing the road (who are all the same height as you) is CRAZY! 🤣😂🤣😄
😳 That sounds like some of the cattle drives I have been stuck in!!😇
Someday......I would love to see this beautiful country @dfinney!!! Is this Corona going to end soon.....
Take care, and give your two woofers a hug from me!🤗
Sad for the Brumbys. Things like that are never easy. The coin is beautiful; with nice details. Thanks for sharing @dfinney!
Yeah, it bums me out for the horses. My father-in-law used to be park ranger in that area. (Long time who before I met my husband). And he has shared stories about hunting feral animals in the national park. Everything from pigs, to deer, to rabbits and dogs. I get that they are tying to protect a unique ecosystem, but man... it just seems like people stuff everything up when it come to animals.
I was just reading a similar (but not related) story yesterday about OR and WA passing laws to allow the hunting of 2 species of sea lions. People killing sea lions to supposedly save salmon that will hopefully help Increase killer whale populations. But it is all just so sad to me.
It is sad. What did the echo system do before man tried to 'manage' it? I wonder what the powers that be would feel like if they were the hunted? I could drive myself crazy if I thought about it too much.😔
Very interesting story! Living and learning!
It’s good to pick up some new facts along the way. Gotta keep the mind sharp! 😄