The Perth Mint is excited to release this Welcome Stranger 2oz Silver Piedfort Bullion Coin marking the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the largest known alluvial gold nugget ever found. 

The mammoth Welcome Stranger nugget was uncovered by Cornish miners John Deason and Richard Oates in 1869, near the Victorian goldfields town of Moliagul. Estimated to weigh 72 kilos and containing almost 2,300oz of gold, the Welcome Stranger sold for about 10,000 British pounds, the equivalent of millions of dollars today. 

Too large to be weighed on the bank scales, the nugget was cut into three pieces before being smelted. Although no photos were taken of the extraordinary find, several sketches were drawn. It is these sketches that inspired the depiction of the Welcome Stranger by master coin designer Stuart Devlin, which features on the reverse of this extra-thick commemorative bullion release.

No more than 15,000 of the silver coins will be released worldwide.