Mark Tollefson

Review of Gold Corporation (Perth Mint)

I was initially a bit put off by a $19 AUS entry f...

I was initially a bit put off by a $19 AUS entry fee for an hour long tour... but decided I really wanted to see it. I am so glad that I did! What they don't tell you is that once the tour itself is over, that you can return to the exhibits and spend as much time as you want. You can also watch the live pour of a gold brick more than once. I watched it twice, done by two different people, and learned different things both times.

The gold pour is the real highlight. The gathered audience is guaranteed to ooh and ah at least twice during the presentation.

The other displays are quite interesting, also. A few of the largest gold nuggets in the world on on display... just a thin layer of plexiglass from your nose. Any you can actually pick up a gold brick in your hand, and feel how surprisingly heavy it is. (I smile remembering TV westerns where they rob the train and throw several gold bars into a saddlebag and throw it over their shoulder.)

They do have the world's largest gold coin, with a ton of gold in it, and it is impressive to think what it is worth. It is on display in the open, in the center of a 12 foot diameter table that you can walk around.

Unfortunately, they told me that free sample day was yesterday.