Australian one-cent coin

One cent

Australia
Value	0.01 AUD
Mass	2.60 g
Diameter	17.65 mm
Edge	Plain
Composition	97% copper 2.5% zinc 0.5% tin
Years of minting	1966–1991, 2006 and 2010
Obverse
Design	Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia
Designer	Raphael Maklouf
Design date	1985
Reverse
Design	Feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus)
Designer	Stuart Devlin
Design date	1966

The cent or penny, formally the one-cent coin, was the lowest-denomination coin of the Australian dollar, introduced on 14 February 1966 in the decimalisation of Australian currency until it was withdrawn from circulation in 1992 (along with the two-cent coin)^[1][2]

Description

From 1966 until 1984 the obverse featured the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin. It was changed in 1985 to a version by Raphael Maklouf, which remained until its demonetisation in 1992.^[3]

The reverse side of the coin featured the image of a feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus), a gliding possum unique to Australian states bordering the Pacific Ocean. The image was designed by Stuart Devlin, who designed the reverses of all of the decimal coins introduced in 1966.

Production

The first minting of the coin was in the 1960s. In the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra 146.5 million were minted, alongside 239 million from the Melbourne Mint and 26.6 million at the Perth Mint. This was the only year that the coin was issued at more than one mint, apart from in 1981 when 40.3 million were struck at the British Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales as well as 183.6 million in Canberra. The only year of its run not to have any minting was 1986, the last minting was in 1990.^[4]

The decision to remove the one and two-cent coins was confirmed by the Treasurer in a Budget Speech on 21 August 1990. The action was due to inflation reducing its value, and the high cost of bronze.^[4] Around the same time other countries removed their bronze coins—New Zealand removed its one and two cent coins in 1990, while the United Kingdom and Ireland turned their bronze one and two pence coins into copper-plated steel.

The one cent coin was produced as proof in 1986, 1991, 2006 and 2010 as part of mint sets. Other compositions were also used for 1 cent coins such as the 1978 (incorrectly listed as 1968 at Downies) specimen struck in aluminium ^[5] or fine silver proofs in 1991, 2006 and 2011.

After removal from circulation, the coins were melted down to make bronze medals for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.^[6]

References