The Perth Mint has released the Blood Moon 2026 1oz Silver Proof Coloured Coin, a 99.99% silver proof carrying a full colour reverse of a total lunar eclipse and two owls. The issue is capped at 2,000 coins worldwide and sells for AUD 339.00 under SKU 26Z11AAA.
The timing is the part collectors will notice. 2026 is the year Australia had one of the best seats on the planet for a total lunar eclipse, and it is also the last such event anyone will see for nearly three years. A coin called BLOOD MOON arriving in that particular year is not a coincidence anyone at the Mint needs to explain.
A design built for the dark
The coloured reverse portrays one owl at rest on a branch and a second owl in flight, set against a blood moon casting red light across billowing cloud in the night sky. The inscription BLOOD MOON appears in the design. The Perth Mint has not credited a designer for the reverse.
The pairing of owls with an eclipse is doing more work than decoration. A blood moon is a night sky event that people watch rather than merely read about, and the owl is the animal that shares the same hours. Placing a pale, brightly struck bird against a heavily coloured red and black field also solves a practical problem in coloured minting: colour flattens a proof surface, and the design needs something raised and uncoloured to hold the light. The owls do that. The frosted plumage reads against the mirror fields, and the moon carries the colour.
The obverse bears the Jody Clark effigy of King Charles III with the denomination, weight, fineness and year date.
The eclipse behind the theme
The Perth Mint’s own text treats the blood moon as a phenomenon rather than a dated event. It describes the moon moving into Earth’s shadow during a total lunar eclipse, the reddish hue that follows, and the long history of cultures reading omens, endings and renewal into the sight.
The 2026 calendar gives that framing unusual force. The total lunar eclipse of 2 to 3 March 2026 delivered roughly 58 minutes of totality and was visible across Australia, New Zealand, eastern Asia, the Pacific and much of the Americas, with the western United States best placed. Europe and Africa saw nothing. For Australian sky watchers it fell in the evening, which is why Parliament House in Canberra hosted a public viewing on the front lawn with Mount Stromlo Observatory and the Canberra Astronomical Society.
It was also the third total lunar eclipse in a row, following March and September 2025, and the last one until the New Year’s eclipse of 31 December 2028. The only other lunar eclipse of 2026, a deep partial on 28 August with about 93% of the disc inside the umbra, was visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa and western Asia, and not from Australia.
So the coin reaches the market in the window between a total eclipse that Australians actually watched and a long wait for the next one. That is a better commercial position than most celestial themed releases enjoy.
Specifications
| Product | Blood Moon 2026 1oz Silver Proof Coloured Coin |
| SKU | 26Z11AAA |
| Year | 2026 |
| Metal | 99.99% silver |
| Minimum gross weight | 31.107 g |
| Maximum diameter | 40.90 mm |
| Maximum thickness | 3.50 mm |
| Finish | Proof, coloured |
| Maximum mintage | 2,000 |
| Denomination | 1.00 TVD |
| Legal tender | Tuvalu |
| Effigy | Jody Clark design of H.M. King Charles III |
| Issue price | AUD 339.00 |
The coin ships with a certificate of authenticity in a black display case inside a themed illustrated shipper.
Why a Tuvaluan dollar
The legal tender line is worth pausing on, because it is the detail that most often confuses newer collectors of Perth Mint material. Tuvalu has no minting capacity of its own. The Perth Mint has managed Tuvalu’s legal tender precious metal and base metal coin programs under long standing contractual arrangements for around two decades, and the royalty those programs generate flows back to one of the smallest economies in the world.
The arrangement also produces a quiet quirk on the obverse. Australian legal tender coins struck in Perth carry the official Commonwealth effigy of King Charles III by Dan Thorne. Tuvaluan issues from the same presses carry the Jody Clark portrait instead. Same mint, same monarch, two different effigies, decided entirely by which country’s name appears above the King’s head.
A gold companion at 99 pieces
Australian distributor Downies lists a Blood Moon 2026 1oz gold proof at 38.60 mm with a mintage of 99, sharing the same coloured design. The Perth Mint’s own shop currently carries only the silver, and dealer copy on the gold describes it as a Niue issue rather than a Tuvaluan one, so anyone chasing the gold should confirm the issuing authority against the certificate before buying.
At 99 coins the gold will be gone quickly regardless. The silver, at 2,000, is the version most collectors will actually get a shot at.
What it means for collectors
Coloured single issue proofs are the most crowded part of the modern world coin market, and most of them are forgotten within a year. The ones that hold interest tend to have a hook that exists outside the coin itself. This one does. Anyone who stood outside on the evening of 3 March 2026 and watched the moon turn copper has a reason to want the object, and will not get another chance at that particular experience until the last night of 2028. At 2,000 pieces, that is a small enough number to matter if even a fraction of that audience decides they want one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the mintage of the Blood Moon 2026 1oz silver proof coin? The maximum mintage is 2,000 coins worldwide.
How much does the Blood Moon 2026 silver coin cost? The Perth Mint issue price is AUD 339.00.
Is the Blood Moon 2026 coin Australian legal tender? No. It is legal tender of Tuvalu with a denomination of 1.00 TVD, struck by the Perth Mint under its long standing arrangement to manage Tuvalu’s coin programs.
Whose portrait is on the obverse? The obverse carries the Jody Clark effigy of King Charles III, the portrait the Perth Mint uses on Tuvaluan issues rather than the Dan Thorne Commonwealth effigy used on Australian coins.
What does the reverse design show? An owl resting on a branch and a second owl in flight, with a blood moon casting a red glow across cloud in the night sky, and the inscription BLOOD MOON.
Does the coin commemorate a specific lunar eclipse? No. The Perth Mint presents the blood moon as a celestial phenomenon rather than tying the coin to a dated event, though 2026 did produce a total lunar eclipse on 2 to 3 March that was widely visible from Australia.
Is there a gold version? Distributor listings describe a Blood Moon 2026 1oz gold proof limited to 99 coins at 38.60 mm. It is not currently listed on the Perth Mint’s own website.
What packaging does the coin come in? A classic black display case inside a themed illustrated shipper, with a certificate of authenticity.
