Coins of the Australian dollar

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Coins of the Australian dollar were introduced on 14 February 1966. It was equivalent in value to 10 shillings in the former currency (half of a pound).

Contents

[edit] Regular coinage

The circular 1966 50 cent coin.
The circular 1966 50 cent coin.

Produced by the Royal Australian Mint, all coins portray Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, with the present effigy having been designed by Ian Rank-Broadley. This is matched with designs by the Australian-born artist Stuart Devlin on the reverse. They now comprise 50-cent, 20-cent, ten-cent and five-cent coins – all still referred to as 'silver' though actually 75% copper and 25% nickel – and for many years there were also "bronze" two-cent and one-cent coins.

The 50-cent coin originally had a circular shape, and contained 80% silver and 20% copper, so that the material of the coin was worth more than 50 cents. It was made to almost identical dimensional specifications as the British 2½-shilling Half-Crown, and was probably also influenced by the US 1964 JFK 90% Silver Half-dollar. However, to avoid confusion among the round coins and because of its excessive value, it was only produced for one year then withdrawn from circulation. There were no 50 cent coins minted for two years and then it was changed to a 12-sided shape for 1969 and all following years, but the 12 sided issue was minted as a specimen piece in 1966-67 to test the design. It has since been issued in both standard and commemorative designs. The standard designs on both versions of the coin are the same: the obverse carries the effigy of the sovereign, and the reverse shows the Coat of Arms of Australia. The dodecagonal version has a mass of 15.55 g and a diameter of 31.51 mm, and the round, silver version has a mass of 13.28 g and diameter of 31.51 mm. An estimate of the value of the silver in the circular coin can be found if the coin is reckoned as being worth XAG 0.3416. 94.13 Australian 1966 round 50c coins make up a fine kilogram of silver. In July 2006 prices this is about AUD 4.92 (approx. 10 times the face value). Many Australians mistakenly believe that the 1966 round 50c piece is quite rare, when in fact Royal Australian Mint records indicate that some 36 million examples were struck, and 11 million were released into circulation. They are hardly ever seen in business today, and nearly all the Australian round 50-cent coins from 1966 that remain in existence are now only traded for their bullion value — very few are sold as collectors' items. They are often confused with the round 50-cent coin from New Zealand with the date 1967-2006, which has a maritime scene on the reverse.

"Gold" two-dollar and one-dollar coins were introduced in the late 1980s. The one-dollar coin was introduced in 1984, to replace the banknote of the same value. The two-dollar coin, also replacing a banknote, was introduced in 1988. These have content of 2% nickel, 6% aluminium and 92% copper. Thus all Australian coins in use currently are composed of more than half copper. The two-dollar coin is smaller than the one-dollar coin, which is unusual and often causes confusion for foreign tourists.

The one- and two-cent coins were discontinued in 1991 and withdrawn from circulation.

Australian coins have medallic orientation, as are most other Commonwealth coinage, Japanese yen coinage, and euro coinage. This is in contrast to coin orientation, which is used in United States coinage.

Australian coins [1]
Image Value Technical parameters Description Date of
first minting
Diameter Thickness Weight Composition Edge Obverse Reverse
1 cent
(no longer used)		 17.53 mm 2.59 g 97% copper
2.5% zinc
0.5% tin		 Queen
Elizabeth II		 Feathertail Glider 1966
2 cents
(no longer used)		 21.59 mm 5.18 g Frill-necked Lizard
5 cents 19.41 mm 1.3 mm 2.83 g Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel		 Milled Queen
Elizabeth II		 Echidna 1966
10 cents 23.60 mm 2 mm 5.65 g Superb Lyrebird
20 cents 28.52 mm 2.5 mm 11.30 g Platypus
50 cents Dodecagon
shortest:
31.51 mm
longest:
32.00 mm		 3 mm 15.55 g Plain Coat of arms 1969
$1 25.00 mm 3 mm 9.00 g 92% copper
6% aluminium
2% nickel		 Interrupted
milled		 Queen
Elizabeth II		 Five kangaroos 1984
$2 20.50 mm 3.2 mm 6.60 g Aboriginal elder 1988
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Size comparison, Australian coins in rank of denomination

Queen Elizabeth II on 1966 coins

[edit] Commemorative coins

Many special coins have been produced, with imagery representing an event replacing the usual design on the reverse side of the coin. For some years, all the coins are replaced with a different design for that year. In other cases, only a few coins have the new design, which are released as special commemorative coins, although many usually end up in circulation. Because of their larger size, it is usually the 50c, 20c and $1 that have new designs; the $2, 10c and 5c are rarely changed. The commemorative coins include:

  • 1970 50c Captain Cook Bicentenary, mintage: 16,548,000
  • 1977 50c Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee, mintage: 25,067,000
  • 1981 50c Charles & Diana Royal Wedding, mintage: 20,000,000
  • 1982 50c XII Commonwealth Games, held in Brisbane, mintage: 49,610,200
  • 1986 $1 International Year of Peace, mintage: 25,100,000
  • 1988 50c, First Fleet Bicentenary 1788-1988, mintage: 8,100,000 (rare)
  • 1988 $1, First Fleet Bicentenary, Aboriginal design, mintage: 20,400,000
  • 1991 50c 25th Anniversary of Decimal Currency (Merino ram's head), mintage: 4,700,000 (rare)
  • 1992 $1 Barcelona Olympics, mintage: unknown
  • 1993 $1 Landcare Australia, mintage: 15,000,000
  • 1994 50c Year of the Family, mintage: 20,876,100
  • 1994 $1 Dollar Decade 1984-1994, mintage: unknown
  • 1995 20c 50th Anniversary of the United Nations, mintage: 4,835,000
  • 1995 50c End of World War II 50th Anniversary, Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, mintage: 15,869,200
  • 1995 $1 Waltzing Matilda, mintage: unknown
  • 1996 $1 Sir Henry Parkes Centenary, mintage: 26,200,000
  • 1997 $1 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Birth Centenary, mintage: 24,381,000
  • 1998 50c Bass and Flinders Anniversary, discovery of Bass Strait, mintage: 22,389,200
  • 1998 $1 Howard Florey (Only proof and mint packs), mintage: unknown
  • 1999 $1 International Year of Older Persons, mintage: 29,218,000
  • 2000 50c Millennium Year 2000, mintage: 16,630,000
  • 2000 50c Year 2000 Royal Visit, mintage: 5,145,000
  • 2001 20c Sir Donald Bradman Tribute, mintage: 10,000,000
  • 2001 20c Centenary of Federation coins for each of the 9 states, territories and regions, mintage (total of all coins): unknown
  • 2001 50c Centenary of Federation coins for each of the 9 states, territories and regions plus one for Australia, mintage (total of all coins): 64,271,600
  • 2001 $1 Centenary of Federation, mintage: 27,905,390
  • 2001 $1 International Year of Volunteers, mintage: 6,000,000 (rare)
  • 2002 50c Year of the Outback, mintage: 11,507,000
  • 2002 $1 Year of the Outback, mintage: 35,373,000
  • 2003 20c Australia's Volunteers, mintage: 7,574,000
  • 2003 50c Australia's Volunteers, mintage: 8,202,000
  • 2003 $1 Australia's Volunteers, mintage: 4,149,000
  • 2003 $1 Centenary of Women's Suffrage, mintage: 10,007,000 (rare)
  • 2004 50c 2004 Student Design Australia - Animals, with wombat, koala and lorikeet, mintage: 10,577,000
  • 2005 20c End of World War II 60th Anniversary, mintage: 10,000,000
  • 2005 50c End of World War II 60th Anniversary, mintage: 10,000,000
  • 2005 $1 End of World War II 60th Anniversary, mintage: unknown
  • 2005 50c 2005 Student Design Commonwealth Games, mintage: 21,000,000
  • 2006 $1 50th Anniversary of Television, mintage: unknown
  • 2007 $1 75th Anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, mintage: unknown
  • 2007 $1 APEC Australia 2007, mintage: unknown

Examples of some of the Commemorative Coins:

50 Cent: 2005 coin commemorating the 2006 Commonwealth Games

20 Cent: 2005 coin commemorating the return of troops from War.

1 Dollar: Coin commemorating the Centenary of Federation.

[edit] Collectible coins

The 1994 Australian $200 coin features a Tasmanian Devil.
The 1994 Australian $200 coin features a Tasmanian Devil.

The Royal Australian Mint regularly releases collectible coins, one of the most famous of which is the gold two hundred dollar coin. Australian collectible coins are all legal tender[1] and can be used directly as currency or converted to "normal" coinage at a bank. Metals include aluminium bronze, silver, gold and bi-metal coins (Pitt, 2000 pp.90-100). Nugget coins are issued in ounces and fractions or kilograms and come in gold and platinum, some are denominated in dollars others only their weight value (Pitt, 2000 pp. 101-109).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.ramint.gov.au/about_ram/default.cfm?Defaultpage=faq.cfm (Question 11)

[edit] External links

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