2001 $1 1oz Silver Proof Millennium Coin - Coloured

The coin features designs from the Ancient Egyptians, who were one of the earliest people to measure accurately the solar year, the basis of our modern calendar, nearly 7,000 years ago.  They did this by measuring the annual flooding of the Nile against the position of the Sun and the Morning Star, or Sirius – the Dog Star.  The central image is of Cleopatra’s Needle, which originally stood in the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis – the City of the Sun.  It is symbolic of the precision with which the Egyptians built and aligned their monuments.  Cleopatra's Needle, the pyramids, the Sphinx and the Temple of Ramses II are perfectly illusstrated at significant dates of the year, such as the birth of death or a pharaoh or queen, coronations and summer solstice.

A coloured satellite image of the Earth, a gold insert of the Sun, with stylised rays, aligned with the Morning Star and shining on Cleopatra’s needle, completes the central design.   The winged sun disc designs around the border symbolise the union of upper and lower Egypt.  They incorporate the cobra and vulture goddesses with the sun disc of the God Re (or Ra).

The figures around the outside are taken from the deities at the Temple of Hator, which are holding up the heavens or in this case the world.  The coin is encapsulated and housed in a presentation case and accompanied by a descriptive booklet that includes a Certificate of Authenticity and is protected by a beauty box.

Denomination - One Dollar

Composition - Fine Silver (99.9%)

Worldwide Mintage Limit - 30,000

Mint - The Perth Mint