Notable for the tiny limited edition of just 3,000 – sure to sell out at super speed – we are delighted to present The Rainbow Serpent 50th Anniversary 2025 20c Gold-plated Colour Cupro-Nickel Uncirculated Coin & Deluxe Special Edition Book!
Created by the Royal Australian Mint in league with the Children’s Book Council of Australia as part of the Book Week Series, this official Australian legal tender issue marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of one of Australia’s most beloved children’s books – The Rainbow Serpent.
Telling the tale of the Rainbow Serpent – a creator-god, and of the deepest cultural, spiritual and religious significance to Aboriginal Australians – this iconic children’s book was written and illustrated by Dick Roughsey. An Aboriginal artist of the Lardil people on Mornington Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Roughsey is revered for his contributions to art and children’s literature, and for his quest to preserve Indigenous culture and traditions.
Roughsey’s illustrated children’s books played a significant role in that quest, with The Rainbow Serpent arguably his most famous work. Published in 1975, The Rainbow Serpent was judged Book of the Year and Picture Book of the Year by the CBCA in 1976, with Roughsey also receiving a Fellowship of Australian Writers award.
For anyone who has read The Rainbow Serpent to youngsters, and for those who grew up enthralled by Roughsey’s retelling of this powerful Dreamtime story, this not-issued-for-circulation gold-plated 20c coin is a must-have – especially given the sensational presentation! Housed in the cover of a special deluxe edition of The Rainbow Serpent, you could not imagine a more appropriate setting. Crucially, the limited edition is a mere 3,000.
