Commemorative coins of Australia

Coins of the Australian dollar are circulated with different designs depicting various anniversaries or significant Australian events, these differing coin designs being labelled Australian commemorative coins. Typically, only the 20c, 50c and $1 coins have been minted in commemoration, however in 2012 a commemorative $2 coin was minted for Remembrance Day.

2 dollar coin

Australia's first commemorative $2 coin was released in 2012 to commemorate Australia's involvement in wars.

Circulation releases

The 2012 commemorative $2 coin was minted to acknowledge Remembrance Day. It features a poppy in the centre on a background of microtext, reading: "remembrance day" and "lest we forget".[1] There are also poppies on either side of the main design. The obverse features the third effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadely, and "Australia 2012". A coloured version of the coin is also to be circulated, (with a mintage of around 500,000), as Australia's first coloured circulating coin. As Canada also has coloured circulating coins, Australia is now the second country to do so.[2]

Year Issued Commemorative Subject Reverse Designer Reverse Design Mintage Figures[3]
2012 Remembrance Day Aaron Baggio Coloured red poppy centre on microtext background 503,000
2012 Remembrance Day Aaron Baggio Non-coloured poppy centre on microtext background 5,799,000
2013 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Aleksandra Stokic St Edward’s Crown surrounded by purple coloured royalty stripes 995,000
2014 Remembrance Day Dove and olive branch in coloured green concentric circles 2,000,000[4]
2015 ANZAC Day Poppies and grave crosses around a red concentric circle encapsulating the words "Lest We Forget" 1,500,000[5]

Non-circulation collector coins

The coloured version of the 2012 coin was first distributed in limited mintage through RSLs, to go along with their traditional red poppy appeal to celebrate the 2012 Remembrance Day. The same coin is also being sold with a 'C' mintmark through the official numismatic program as a collector coin.[2]

Year Issued Commemorative Subject Reverse Designer Reverse Design Mintage Figures
2012 Remembrance Day Aaron Baggio Coloured red poppy centre on microtext background, with 'C' mintmark not yet allocated
2013 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Aleksandra Stokic St Edward’s Crown surrounded by purple coloured royalty stripes, with 'C' mintmark not yet allocated
2014 Remembrance Day Dove and olive branch in coloured green concentric circles, with 'C' mintmark 40,000

1 dollar coin

Not all years have issues for circulation with 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 only in mintpacks. Issue 1984, 1985, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 are the only issue with the Kangaroo portrait. Some uncirculated coins have the mintmarks for Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra and were issues for the show periods.

Circulation releases

Year Issued Commemorative subject Reverse designer Reverse design Mintage Figures[6][7][8]
1986 International Year of Peace Horst Hahne Hands holding a dove 25,100,000
1988 First Fleet Bicentenary (200 years since English colonisation) Stuart Devlin Aboriginal design of a Koori Kangaroo 20,400,000
1993 Landcare Australia Vladimir Gottwald Wavy lines and hands shaping Australia 15,000,000
1996 Sir Henry Parkes Centenary Wojciech Pietranik Portrait of Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), "Father of Federation" 26,200,000
1997 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Birth Centenary (coin B) Wojciech Pietranik Portrait of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897–1935) and plane 24,381,000
1999 International Year of Older Persons Wojciech Pietranik International Year of Older Persons logo "towards a society for all ages" 29,218,000
2001 Centenary of Federation Wojciech Pietranik Centenary of Federation logo 27,905,390
2001 International Year of the Volunteer Wojciech Pietranik International year of volunteers logo 6,000,000
2002 Year of the Outback Wojciech Pietranik Year of Outback logo 35,373,000
2003 Australia's Volunteers Wojciech Pietranik 4,149,000
2003 Centenary of Women's Suffrage Vladimir Gottwald Representation of the female figures in the suffrage banner by Dora Meeson Coates 10,007,000
2005 60th anniversary of the end of World War II Wojciech Pietranik The Dancing Man 34,200,000
2007 APEC Australia 2007 Wojciech Pietranik APEC star logo 20,100,000
2008 Centenary of Scouts Australia 17,200,000
2009 Centenary of Commonwealth Age Pension Wojciech Pietranik Ten human figures as in multi-generational family photograph 10,158,000
2010 Centenary of Girl Guides Australia 12,585,000
2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011, Perth, Western Australia 9,397,000
2014 ANZAC Centenary 23,000,000

Non-circulation collector coins

Year Issued Commemorative subject Reverse designer Reverse design Mintage Figures[6][7][8]
1992 Barcelona Olympics Margaret Priest 23,500
1994 Dollar Decade (1984–1994) - 10th Anniversary of the Australian $1 coin Vladimir Gottwald 123,318
1995 Waltzing Matilda Centenary Vladimir Gottwald 123,318
1997 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Birth Centenary (coin A) Wojciech Pietranik 50,500
1998 Lord Howard Florey Birth Centenary Vladimir Gottwald 82,035
1999 The last ANZACs. Wojciech Pietranik 33,922
2000 HMAS Sydney II Vladimir Gottwald 71,367
2000 Sydney Olympics Wojciech Pietranik 98,567
2000 Centenary of Australia's first Victoria Cross Wojciech Pietranik 49,877
2001 Centenary of the Australian Army Vladimir Gottwald 125,186
2001 80th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force Vladimir Gottwald 94,481
2001 90th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Navy Vladimir Gottwald 62,429
2003 50th Anniversary of the End of the Korean War (1953) Vladimir Gottwald 93,572
2003 Anniversary of Vietnam War Veterans Wojciech Pietranik 57,000
2004 150th Anniversary of Eureka Stockade (Ballarat 1854) Wojciech Pietranik 82,604
2005 90th Anniversary of Gallipoli Vladimir Gottwald 76,173
2006 50 years of Australian Television Vladimir Gottwald Film camera and broadcasting TV antenna Unknown
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Tony Dean Unknown
2006 Ocean Series Collection - Clown fish Tony Dean Unknown
2006 Ocean Series Collection - Dolphin Tony Dean Unknown
2007 Ocean Series Collection - Biscuit Star Tony Dean Unknown
2007 Ocean Series Collection - White Shark Tony Dean Unknown
2007 Ocean Series Collection - Bigbelly Seahorse Tony Dean Unknown
2007 Ocean Series Collection - Longfin Bannerfish Tony Dean Unknown
2007 Year of the Surf Lifesaver Tony Dean Unknown
2007 75th Anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge Wojciech Pietranik Sydney Harbour Bridge Unknown
2007 The Ashes Series 1882-2007 Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2007 60th Anniversary of Australian Peacekeeping Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2007 Norman Lindsay Vladimir Gottwald Norman Lindsay Unknown
2007 50th Anniversary of the Australian Special Air Service Unknown
2008 Rock Wallaby, Land Series Unknown
2007–2008 International Polar Year, Polar Exploration Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2008 Centenary of Rugby League: 'Inspire the Future' Unknown
2008 Centenary of the Australian Coat of Arms Australian Coat of Arms Unknown
2008 Centenary of Australian Quarantine Unknown
2008 International Year of Planet Earth Unknown
2008 Inspirational Australians: Education - Blessed Mary MacKillop Vladimir Gottwald Mary MacKillop (1842–1909) "guiding future generations" Unknown
2009 International Year of Astronomy - 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first use of the telescope Radio telescope in Parkes, NSW Unknown
2010 Centenary of the Aged Pension Unknown
2010 Inspirational Australian: Health Care • Fred Hollows 1929-1993 Vladimir Gottwald Unknown
2014 70th Anniversary for the Retirement of G for George 30,000

50 cent coin

Circulation releases

Year Issued Commemorative subject Reverse designer Reverse design Mintage Figures
1970 Bicentenary of the exploration of the eastern coast of Australia by James Cook Stuart Devlin Portrait of Captain Cook with Australian map 16,548,000
1977 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stuart Devlin Silver Jubilee design 25,067,000
1981 Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer Stuart Devlin Portraits of Prince & Princess of Wales 20,000,000
1982 XII 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane Stuart Devlin Commonwealth Games Theme 49,610,200
1988 First Fleet Bicentenary 1788-1988 Michael Tracey Ship 8,100,000
1991 25th Anniversary of Decimal Currency George Kruger Gray & Horst Hahne Merino ram's head 4,700,000
1994 International Year of the Family Carolyn Rosser Family 20,876,100
1995 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II Louis Laumen & Horst Hahne Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop 15,869,200
1998 Commemorating 200 years since the discovery of The Bass Strait in 1798 by Matthew Flinders who named the Strait after his colleague George Bass Vladimir Gottwald Portrait of Bass & Flinders 22,389,200
2000 Millennium Year 2000 Vladimir Gottwald Stylised Australian flag 16,630,000
2000 Royal visit, also featuring a commemorative portrait of the Queen on the obverse. Vladimir Gottwald Flag pole at Parliament House 5,145,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - Australia 43,149,600
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - New South Wales William Applegate Gullick. New South Wales Coat Of Arms 3,042,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - Australian Capital Territory 2,000,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - Queensland 2,320,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - Victoria 2,800,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - Northern Territory 2,080,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - Western Australia 2,400,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - South Australia 2,400,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - Tasmania 2,160,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - States & Territories - Norfolk Island 2,160,000
2002 Year of the Outback Wojciech Pietranik 11,507,000
2003 Australia's Volunteers Vladimir Gottwald 13,927,000
2004 Student Design Vladimir Gottwald & Student John Serrano, St Peter's Primary School, East Keilor Animals: Wombat, Koala and Lorikeet 10,577,000
2005 Remembrance: 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II Wojciech Pietranik Soldier silhouettes by a grave 21,033,000
2005 Student Design - XVIII 2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne 21,000,000
2010 Commemorating Australia Day 2010 Vladimir Gottwald 11,452,000
2014 50th anniversary of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies - AIATSIS AIATSIS logo, based on a shield created by the Uw Oykangand people of North Queensland.

Non-circulation collector coins

Year Issued Commemorative subject Reverse designer Reverse design Mintage Figures
2002 50th Anniversary of the Accession of Queen Elizabeth II Peter Soobik & Wojciech Pietranik 32,107
2003 50th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Peter Soobik & Wojciech Pietranik 65,003
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Basketball Wojciech Pietranik 6,494
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Hockey Wojciech Pietranik 6,261
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Shooting Wojciech Pietranik 5,570
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Weight lifting Wojciech Pietranik 6,832
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Cycling Wojciech Pietranik 22,861
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Badminton Wojciech Pietranik 22,270
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Rugby 7's Wojciech Pietranik 24,427
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Gymnastics Wojciech Pietranik 25,574
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Athletics Wojciech Pietranik 22,457
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Table Tennis Wojciech Pietranik 22,502
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Netball Wojciech Pietranik 22,432
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Triathlon Wojciech Pietranik 22,302
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Aquatics Wojciech Pietranik 31,702
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Boxing Wojciech Pietranik 22,602
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Lawn Bowls Wojciech Pietranik 22,602
2006 Commonwealth Games Series - Squash Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2006 The Queen's Birthday Stuart Devlin 28,191
2006 The Royal visit Stuart Devlin 28,593
2007 Royal 60th Wedding Anniversary Stuart Devlin Unknown
2008 Centenary of Scouts Australia Caitlin Goodal Unknown
2008 25th Anniversary of America's Cup Victory Australia II Caitlin Goodal Unknown
2009 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing Caitlin Goodal 43,149
2010 150th Running of the Melbourne Cup Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2010 Royal Engagement Stuart Devlin Unknown
2011 Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton Vladimir Gottwald Unknown
2011 50th Anniversary of the Triple Zero Emergency Call Service Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2011 60th Anniversary of National Service Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2012 70th Anniversary of Kokoda Trail Wojciech Pietranik Unknown
2012 Bombing of Australia Aaron Baggio Unknown
2012 50th Anniversary of The Australian Ballet Aaron Baggio Unknown
2012 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II Stuart Devlin Unknown
2012 Lunar Year of the Dragon Alexander Vorodeyev Unknown
2013 100 Years of Commonwealth Stamps Aaron Baggio Unknown
2013 Centenary of Australian Banknotes Aaron Baggio Unknown
2013 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Aleksandra Stokic Unknown
2013 Surfing Australia Aleksandra Stokic Surfer on a board above a wave, bordered by a wave tunnel Unknown
2013 50 Years of the Bathurst Endurance Race Daniel Neale Unknown
2013 Lunar Year of the Snake Alexander Vorodeyev Snake accompanied by the Chinese character for such Unknown
2013 Firstborn Baby of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Royal Australian Mint Family tree with the initials ‘W’ and ‘C’ above ‘HRH Prince George Born 22.07.2013’ Unknown

20 cent coin

Circulation releases

Year Issued Commemorative subject Reverse designer Reverse design Mintage Figures
1995 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Horst Hahne UN emblem 4,835,000
2001 Tribute to Sir Donald Bradman's death Vladimir Gottwald Donald Bradman in cricket gear, circular lettering 10,000,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - New South Wales Student Joseph Neve from the Bellingen High School NSW emblem 3,202,500
2001 Centenary of Federation - Australian Capital Territory Student Stacy Jo-Ann Paine from the Caroline Chisholm High School 2,100,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - Queensland Student Jenifer Gray from the Ingham State High School 2,300,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - Victoria Students Ryan Ladd & Mark Kennedy from the Lara Lake Primary School 2,900,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - Norfolk Island Student Megan Cunnings from the Norfolk Island Central School 2,200,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - Northern Territory Student Lisa Brett from the Leanyer School in Darwin 2,100,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - Western Australia Student Janice Ng from the Forrestfield Senior High School 2,400,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - South Australia Student Lisa Murphy from the Yankalilla Area School 2,400,000
2001 Centenary of Federation - Tasmania Student Abbey MacDonald from the Launceston Church Grammar School 2,200,000
2003 Australia's Volunteers Vladimir Gottwald 7,574,000
2005 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II Vladimir Gottwald WORLD WAR 1939-1945 COMING HOME lettering. 10,000,000
2010 The Australian Tax Office Centenary 2010 11,575,000
2011 Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton 10,123,000
2011 International Women's Day 100th anniversary 1911-2011 6,773,000
2011 International Year of Volunteers Plus 10 6,111,000
2013 Canberra Centenary 6,083,000

Non-circulation collector coins

Year Issued Commemorative subject Reverse designer Reverse design Mintage Figures
2007 Year of the Surf Lifesaver Tony Dean Unknown
2008 International Polar Year (2007–2008) Unknown
2008 International Year of Planet Earth Unknown
2009 International Year of Astronomy Unknown

References

  1. ↑ http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2012L00095/Explanatory%20Statement/Text
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.ramint.gov.au/media/press-releases/2012/20121026.cfm
  3. ↑ http://www.ramint.gov.au/about/compliance/annual_reports.cfm
  4. ↑ http://www.ramint.gov.au/designs/products/ACCP_info.cfm
  5. ↑ http://www.ramint.gov.au/media/press-releases/2015/20150419.cfm
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Pitt, Ian W. (ed.) (2000). Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values (19th ed.). Chippendale, New South Wales: Renniks Publications. p. 85. ISBN 0958557446. OCLC 154635503.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Australian 50c Coins". Cruzi's coins. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.decimalcoins.com/

External links