The world’s most southerly true coral reef surrounds the Lord Howe Island Group, a volcanic archipelago 570 km east of Port Macquarie honoured by this coloured 2012 one-dollar coin from the Perth Mint. On the coin two sooty terns fly above the islands.

The Lord Howe Island Group was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982. The islands are the summits of a submarine volcano rising from more than 2,000 m below the sea, and nearby the rock of Balls Pyramid rises sheer from the ocean. Seabird colonies breed here, and tropical and temperate species meet in a rare transition zone between algal and coral reefs. On Balls Pyramid the Lord Howe Island phasmid, the world’s largest stick insect, was rediscovered after being feared extinct.

The coin was issued in the Celebrate Australia series, which the Perth Mint has devoted to World Heritage sites since 2010. The 2012 issue comprised five dollars: Lord Howe, Kakadu, Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Fraser Island and the Willandra Lakes Region. All are coloured aluminium-bronze coins released on a card with a photograph of the site and a fold-out stand; the reverse reads LORD HOWE ISLAND with the P mintmark, the obverse bears Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of Elizabeth II.

The Mint’s official mintage for the coin is 2,905 pieces. For marine and bird themes, and for a collection of Australia’s islands, it is a low-mintage and expressive piece.

UNC condition: the coin has never circulated, shows no wear and keeps its mint lustre.

VPcoins is a numismatic shop where coins from many countries are gathered in a single catalogue.