Pirates and treasure are two things that are intertwined in the public's imagination. The thought of swashbuckling pirates plundering ships in the search of gold is a romantic idea, and one that the Perth Mint has attempted to capture with a limited edition coin.
The owner of the pirate ship (perhaps an oxymoron) in the coin is the notorious Black Bart. He was highly successful in his endeavours, capturing over 400 ships and striking fear into the hearts of sailors all over the ocean.
This ship was named 'The Royal Fortune'. Interestingly, there were 4 ships that held this name, each one being captured by the good Captain, and I imagine each one being even more effective at disrupting the flow of trade.
Now back to the coins. There are three classes of them being made, the first one is gold, and then there are two classes of silver ones. Here they differ only on weight, with one being roughly 30g while the other is 150g. There have been 100, 15000 and 500 of these coins made respectively.
With the relatively large supply of these coins, it is far better to enjoy these coins for their craftsmanship and history rather than as an appreciating asset. However, as they are all but pure, it is a way to take a punt on the prices of precious minerals in a far more tangible and beautiful way.
Let me know if you have heard of this coin, or even better, have it in the comments.