The Perth Mint is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a critical event in the revolutionary wave that swept across Central and Eastern Europe ending in the overthrow of Soviet-style communist states within the space of a few months. Issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu and struck by The Perth Mint, this silver proof dollar coin shows a stylized representation of the number 20 separating a colored image of the sky featuring a peace dove, and a close-up interpretation of the Berlin Wall as well as a depiction of Germany’s symbolic Brandenburg Gate.
Forty-three kilometers long, the Berlin Wall was built to prevent defectors escaping to the free world via West Berlin. On November 9, 1989, following mounting anti-communist demonstrations, the East German government announced that restrictions on travel to the West were to be lifted. Border guards had no choice but to open the barriers during the ensuing rush towards the Berlin Wall, letting thousands pass through for the first time in nearly three decades.
As the gates of the Berlin Wall were flung open, West Germans joined in wild celebrations, their euphoria marking the end of the Cold War amid renewed hope for the reunification of their country.
