Australian ten-cent coin

Ten cents

Australia
Value	0.10 AUD
Mass	5.65 g
Diameter	23.60 mm
Thickness	2.00 mm
Edge	milled
Composition	75%Copper, 25% Ni
Years of minting	1966–present
Catalog number	-
Obverse
Design	Queen Elizabeth II, Australia's Queen
Designer	Ian Rank-Broadley
Design date	1999
Reverse
Design	Male Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)
Designer	Stuart Devlin
Design date	1966

The Australian ten-cent coin is a coin of the Australian dollar. It was the fourth-lowest denomination coin when the dollar was introduced on 14 February 1966. Since the demonetisation of one and two cent coins in 1992, it is now the second-lowest denomination coin in circulation. When the dollar was introduced as half of a pound, it inherited the specifications of the pre-decimal shilling as both were worth one twentieth of an Australian pound.

The first year of minting, 1966, saw 30 million produced at the British Royal Mint (then in London) as well as 11 million struck at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Since then, the coins have been produced exclusively at Canberra, apart from in 1981 when 40 million from the Royal Mint's new headquarters in Llantrisant, Wales supplemented 76.1 million from Canberra.^[1]

Years without issue were 1986, 1987, 1995 and 1996. The lowest mintage was 2011, when 1.7 million coins were issued. There have been no commemoratives for this denomination.

The image of a male Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) is displayed on the reverse, as the female has less striking tail features. The Superb Lyrebird is unique to the southeastern states of Australia and has also been introduced to Tasmania. The image was designed by Stuart Devlin, who designed the reverses of all coins of the Australian dollar introduced in 1966.

References

External links

• Australian Decimal Currency