2011 Ginger Meggs 1oz Silver Coloured Proof Coin

Celebrating the 90th anniversary of the creation of Ginger Meggs Australia’s longest running comic strip The Perth Mint struck a coloured 99.9% pure silver 1oz coin.

The Ginger Meggs comic strip was created by Jimmy Bancks and is named for its main character Ginger Meggs. Ginger is represented as an independent cheeky twelve year old boy with a healthy disrespect for authority characteristics that embody all the qualities of the quintessential Aussie larrikin.

An iconic element of Australian popular culture Ginger first appeared in print in November 1921 as one of many characters in the Sydney Sunday Sun comic strip 'Us Fellers'. Jimmy Bancks acknowledged as the creator of the Ginger Meggs phenomenon took over the writing of the comic strip and made Ginger its unrivalled star.

Ginger's adventures were followed by generations of Australians over the following decades. Several notable artists carried on the Ginger Meggs tradition after Banck's death in 1952. This lovable Aussie battler is now drawn by Jason Chatfield the designer of the coin's reverse. In 2011 the comic strip still appeared in 120 newspapers across more than 30 countries.

The coloured reverse depicts a representation of Ginger Meggs riding a kangaroo his dog Mike and his pet monkey Tony. The design references the first Meggs cover of the 1924 Sunbeams Annual. Also incorporated in the design is Ginger Meggs logo and the signatures of the cartoonists Bancks and Chatfield.

The coin is housed in a timber display case which includes a replica iconic Megg’s design inserted inside the lid. It is protected by an illustrated cardboard shipper and accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity.