What Animals are on Australian Coins? Which ones you can see at Wild Life Sydney Zoo

A country’s currency can tell you a lot about the place. Take a look at Australia’s silver and gold coins, and you’ll see a ‘heads’ (obverse) side and ‘tails’ (reverse) side. While Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is featured on all our coins, some of our most treasured animal icons feature on the other side. But seeing them in 2D is nothing like meeting them in person; here’s how you get close to 5 wonders of our wild.

Five Cent Coin: The Echidna

Our smallest coin features our spikiest animal star. Somewhat elusive in the wild, your best bet of seeing one of these cool creatures is at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo. These beautiful beasts are known for their incredible sense of smell, robust legs and strong nails which they use to track down and open ant and termite mounds. Try and catch our keepers feeding our spined residents the next best thing: a meat smoothie via a bowl, a tube or ball with holes, a human-made termite mound or a spoon.

Ten Cent Coin: The lyrebird

While WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo isn’t home to any Superb Lyrebird’s, make it your mission to find one while you’re in Sydney. You may be lucky enough to come across one on a bushwalk in the south-eastern mainland or southern Tasmania. Ask if any locals have seen one around because they generally stay in a small home-range of about 10km. Remember to keep your ears open – Lyrebirds are famous for their incredible talent: mimicking nearly any sound, from other bird calls to yapping dogs and mobile phones. The males are also known for their marvellous courtship spectacle – they fan and flash their tail feathers while they prance and strut their stuff.

Twenty Cent Coin: Platypus

These magnificent monotremes are egg-laying mammals, found solely in Eastern Australia. While it’s rare to see them in the wild, it’s not impossible; they nest in creek and riverbanks where they munch on shellfish, tadpoles and insect larvae. Meet Jackie and Zoey in the Platypus Pools at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo. These unique animals are graceful in the water, and they look like no other animal on earth with their beaver-like tail and a duck-like bill.

Fifty Cent Coin: Emu and Kangaroo

This coin pictures the Australian Coat of Arms; a shield held up by a Kangaroo, and an Emu. These Aussie natives were chosen to represent a nation moving forward; this is symbolic due to the fact neither animal can easily move backwards. You can catch both of these fantastic faunae at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo.

One Dollar Coin: The Kangaroo

Perhaps the most iconic Australian creature, this one-of-a-kind animal also appears on the tail of our national airline. These bouncing beauties belong to the Macropodidae family, which is Latin for ‘big foot.’ You don’t have to travel far outside the city to see a Kangaroo in the wild, but if you want to meet Dot, Dawn and Dusk, our Kangaroo Island roos, come to WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo.