2004 Eureka Stockade 1oz Silver Locket Coin

This one ounce one dollar commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade uprising. Struck in 99.9% pure silver the coin incorporates a central locket containing a selection of small gold nuggets with a minimum total weight of 0.3 grams.

In 1854 miners in Ballarat Victoria rebelled against zealous officialdom and the lack of political representation on the goldfields. They constructed a defensive fortification - the Eureka Stockade - where they hoisted their rebel flag a blue background featuring five stars connected by a white cross. Public indignation at the deaths and injuries inflicted by troops during the uprising contributed to the introduction of reforms interpreted by many as one of the greatest victories for equity and fairness in Australia's history.

The reverse design of the coin depicts a scene from the uprising with a small Eureka flag highlighted in colour. The obverse depicts Raphael Maklouf's effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The coin's transparent centerpiece encapsulates the selection of free-moving natural gold nuggets.

Each coin is housed encapsulated in an innovative curved hinged-lid timber box with a bevelled hole drilled into both top and bottom to reveal the locket containing the gold fragments. A numbered certificate of authenticity fits snugly inside a protective cardboard outer sleeve to complete the presentation.