The future of the hobby we love are in our children. There has to be a way to get children interested in collecting coins beyond looking at the sameness of circulating series. We have seen that the 50 State Quarters program has had a postitive impact on the hobby. There has even been intrest in the Presidential Dollar program and the educational aspect with learning about each president.

Our friends at The Perth Mint has taken this one step further. They have created a AU$1 series based on animals found in Australia. The 2008 Australian Animal $1 Coins program is being marketed to young collectors to teach them more about Australian animals. The Perth Mint has also been reaching beyond Australia to young collectors all over the world.

The program is a 12 coin series of $1 non-circulating legal tender coins with four coins in each of three categories of animals that live in the air, on land, and in the sea. To appeal to the young collector, The Perth Mint offers the coins on individual cards or together with an album and two different sets. The complete set includes all 12 coins, a complete album with themed games, stickers, and a medal of “Gordy the Gekko,” a mascot of The Perth Mint.

There is even a companion website that also has games for the young, or young at heart. There is a contest, but I am not sure it is something those of us who live outside of Australia can participate with. But I had fun with the word search game.

With the current exchange rate, the cost for the complete set is just under $47.00. It sounds like a good gift for the young numismatist. With the Whitman Baltimore Show coming this weekend, I will see if a dealer has a set I can buy for my niece who really likes animals. She will like it!

Image courtesy of The Perth Mint.

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