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Australia Platypus

1990 Two Hundred Dollar

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This Platypus 1990 Two Hundred Dollar Pride of Australia Gold coin is the second of six coins in the Pride of Australia wildlife series. The other coins in the series are Frilled Neck Lizard (1989), Emu (1991), Echidna (1992), Squirrel Glider (1993) and the Tasmanian Devil (1994). The reverse was designed by Horst Hahne and features a Platypus in its natural habitat. It contains the legend PRIDE OF AUSTRALIA TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS. The obverse displays Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, right facing, crowned with necklace and earrings. Around this portrait is the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 1990.

The Platypus is an amphibian which is native to Eastern Australia and Tasmania. It makes its home by digging a burrow at the edge of freshwater lakes and streams. The burrow they dig can be up to thirty metres long. This is probably because they spend up to seventeen hours a day resting in there. Platypuses don't have any teeth so they use gravel to grind up their food. They feed on worms, larvae and small crustaceans and stores any excess in its tail for leaner times. The males use a venom to protect themselves from any attack and it is powerful enough to kill a dog.