Australian five-cent coin

Five Cents
Australia
Value 0.05 AUD
Mass 2.83 g
Diameter 19.41 mm
Thickness 1.30 mm
Edge Reeded
Composition 75% Copper,
25% Nickel
Years of minting 1966–present
Catalog number —
Obverse
Design Queen Elizabeth II, Australia's Queen
Designer Ian Rank-Broadley
Design date 1999
Reverse
Design Echidna
Designer Stuart Devlin
Design date 1966

The Australian five-cent coin is the smallest denomination coin of the decimal Australian dollar introduced in 1966. It has been the lowest-denomination coin in Australia since the withdrawal of the one-cent and two-cent coins in 1992. Due to inflation, the purchasing power of the five-cent coin continues to drop and currently the coin represents less than 0.3% of the country's minimum hourly wage for workers age 21 or over.

The coin was introduced into circulation on 14 February 1966. In its first year of minting, 30 million were struck at the British Royal Mint (then in London) in addition to 45.4 million at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Since then, the coin has been produced exclusively at Canberra, apart from in 1981. In that year, 50.3 million were produced at the Royal Mint's new headquarters in Llantrisant, Wales; as well as 50 million from the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg in addition to 62 million from Canberra.[1] The reverse side depicts an echidna and the obverse side the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. The only commemorative coin in this denomination was issued in 2016 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of decimal currency.[2]

This coin has the highest mintage of any current coins and doesn't circulate well because of its value, like the one-euro cent. The lowest minted year is 1972 with 8.25 million coins and the highest was 2006 with 306.5 million,[3] and the average today is 80 million coins per year. No coins were issued in 1985-86 with the former valued at $30 uncirculated.

There has been some debate about removing this coin from circulation, like in the New Zealand dollar mainly as stated for its low value and high costs. On 23 May 2009 Fairfax newspapers reported that the Royal Australian Mint planned to scrap the coin.[4]

In May 2007, owing to the high market value of copper and nickel, the bullion value of the coin was about 6.5 cents, though there were no reported cases of hoarding or melting down of the coins despite the apparent 30% gross profit to be made from doing so. Market prices as at October 2008 were about $7/kg for copper and $17/kg for nickel, making the metal content of the 5 c coin worth only 2.7 c or 54% of its face value (the same as for a 10 c or 20 c coin). Base-metal prices have dropped further since.

See also

References

  • Ian W. Pitt, ed. (2000). Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values (19th ed.). Chippendale, NSW: Renniks Publications. ISBN 0-9585574-4-6. 
Preceded by
Sixpence (Australian)		 Five Cents (Australian)
1966–present 		Succeeded by
Present
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