Famous find

Welcome was discovered 180 metres underground in 1858 by a party of Cornish miners at Ballarat, Victoria. The world’s largest known nugget at the time, it weighed 69 kilograms and was reported to be of exceptional purity. Sold by the jubilant diggers for just over £10,000, it was eventually melted and turned into gold sovereigns by London’s Royal Mint. Welcome remains the second largest gold nugget ever found (to Welcome Stranger, dug up in Victoria 11 years later.)

Celebrated nugget design

Originally created for the Australian Nugget 1988 1oz gold coin, the image of Welcome appears on the new release surrounded by a pattern of radial lines. Included in the design are the inscriptions ‘AUSTRALIAN NUGGET’, ‘WELCOME 1858’, and the coin’s weight, fineness, and 2024 year-date. The reverse also includes a ‘P125’ mintmark signifying The Perth Mint’s 125th anniversary.