Silver Coin Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Barbie™

Offering a piece that is sure to excite some young collectors as well as the more seasoned, the Perth Mint of Australia has released the 50th Anniversary Barbie 1oz Silver Proof Coin. This colorful limited edition commemorative silver coin serves to celebrate the ½ century mark of a doll that skeptics said would never sell.

History of Barbie

Go back more than fifty years, and you might see a young girl named Barbara as she would sit and play with paper dolls, imagining them as adults doing the daily things adults do. Her mother, Ruth Handler, would watch her, and that is when an idea struck. Why not make a doll that was more like an adult? Up to this point, most dolls were in the likeness of babies. An adult shaped doll would surely inspire young girls as to what the possibilities of the future might bring.

As co-founder of the toy manufacturer Mattel, Ruth was well placed to get her idea on the market. And, in 1959, Mattel introduced the Barbie Doll (named after Barbara) at New York’s annual toy fair in 1959. Skeptics were quickly proved wrong and ultimately over a billion dolls would be sold worldwide. Barbie continues to be a favorite of young girls today.

Barbie Silver Coin Specifications, Price and Order Details

Barbie’s commemorative coin is struck in 99.9% pure silver and is issued as legal tender from the government of Tuvalu (a small island country in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Australia). Its’ maximum diameter is 40.60mm and it has a maximum width of 4mm.

The reverse of the coin features classic images of Barbie with highlights colored in pink, as well as a 50th Anniversary logo and the Perth Mint’s "P" mintmark. The obverse depicts a likeness of Queen Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf and the year 2009.

A worldwide mintage of 20,000 will be observed and each unit will ship in a pink presentation display case along with a numbered certificate of authenticity.

The coin may be ordered through the following Perth Mint online page:

50th Anniversary of Barbie™ 1oz Silver Proof Coin

The coin may be ordered from around the world. The current price for the coin in AUS is $88.64, or $61.39 in US.

Barbie Silver Coin Images

About the Perth Mint

The Perth Mint, wholly-owned by the State Government of Western Australia, is the official issuer of the Australian Federal Government’s Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Program. The Mint opened in 1899 in response to the discovery of rich gold deposits in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. It was Australia’s third branch of Britain’s Royal Mint – the others being the Sydney Mint and the Melbourne Mint (both closed).

The Perth Mint remained under Britain’s jurisdiction until 1 July 1970, when ownership transferred to the State Government of Western Australia.

In 2003, The Perth Mint officially opened an 8,400 square metre state-of-the-art manufacturing facility next door to its original limestone building. Dominating the Mint’s heritage precinct, these two important buildings are powerful symbols of more than 100 years of minting excellence in Western Australia.