Australian round fifty-cent coin

Last updated
Fifty cents
Australia
Value0.50 AUD
Mass13.28 g
Diameter31.51 mm
Thickness2.00 mm
Edgemilled
Composition80% silver, 20% copper
Years of minting1966
Catalog number
Obverse
1966 Round 50 Cent Coin Obverse.png
Design Queen Elizabeth II, Australia's Queen
Designer Arnold Machin
Design date1966
Reverse
1966 australian 50 cent piece circular.jpg
Design Coat of Arms of Australia
Designer Stuart Devlin
Design date1965

The round fifty cent coin was the highest-denomination and largest diameter coin of the Australian decimal coins, introduced in 1966. It has a nominal value of half an Australian dollar, equivalent to five shillings in the pre-decimal accounting system. Due to the large number minted in 1966, and the rising cost of silver, it was not made in any other year. It was replaced by a twelve-sided 50 cent coin in 1969, which retained its reverse of the Australian Coat of Arms.

The round fifty cent coin contained 80% silver and 20% copper but, because the value of silver quickly increased after the coins were issued, their bullion value became higher than their face value, so they were withdrawn from circulation. A total of 36.45 million coins were minted, with 14 million being put into circulation.

Round 50c coins are still legal tender, but they are rarely used as means of payment. As of 12 November 2023, the bullion value of a round 50c coin was about AU$11.94 [1] [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

Coins of the United States dollar - aside from those of the earlier Continental currency - were first minted in 1792. New coins have been produced annually and they comprise a significant aspect of the United States currency system. Circulating coins exist in denominations of 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, and $1.00. Also minted are bullion, including gold, silver and platinum, and commemorative coins. All of these are produced by the United States Mint. The coins are then sold to Federal Reserve Banks which in turn put coins into circulation and withdraw them as demanded by the United States economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian dollar</span> Currency

The Australian dollar is the official currency and legal tender of Australia, including all of its external territories, and three independent sovereign Pacific Island states: Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. As of 2022, it is the sixth most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market and also the seventh most-held reserve currency in global reserves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coinage Act of 1792</span> US legislation for a national currency and mint

The Coinage Act of 1792, passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, created the United States dollar as the country's standard unit of money, established the United States Mint, and regulated the coinage of the United States. This act established the silver dollar as the unit of money in the United States, declared it to be lawful tender, and created a decimal system for U.S. currency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian pound</span> Former currency of Australia

The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.

Australian coins refers to the coins which are or were in use as Australian currency. During the early days of the colonies that formed Australia, foreign as well as British currency was used, but in 1910, a decade after federation, Australian coins were introduced. Australia used pounds, shillings and pence until 1966, when it adopted the decimal system with the Australian dollar divided into 100 cents. With the exception of the first Proclamation Coinage and the holey dollars, all Australian coins remain legal tender despite being withdrawn from circulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian fifty-cent coin</span> Current denomination of Australian currency

The twelve-sided Australian fifty-cent coin is the third-highest denomination coin of the Australian dollar and the largest in terms of size in circulation. It is equal in size and shape to the Cook Island $5 coin, and both remain the only 12-sided coins in the southern hemisphere. It was introduced in 1969 to replace the round fifty-cent coin issued in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian twenty-cent coin</span> Current denomination of Australian currency

The twenty-cent coin of the Australian decimal currency system was issued with conversion to decimal currency on 14 February 1966, replacing the florin which was worth two shillings, a tenth of a pound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian five-cent coin</span> Current denomination of Australian currency

The Australian five-cent coin is the lowest-denomination circulating coin of the decimal Australian dollar introduced in 14 February 1966, replacing the pre-decimal sixpence. It has been the lowest-denomination coin in general circulation since the withdrawal of the one-cent and two-cent coins in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian one-dollar coin</span> Current denomination of Australian currency

The Australian one-dollar coin is the second most valuable circulation denomination coin of the Australian dollar after the two-dollar coin; there are also non-circulating legal-tender coins of higher denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian two-dollar coin</span> Current denomination of Australian currency

The Australian two-dollar coin is the highest-denomination coin of the Australian dollar. It was first issued on 20 June 1988, having been in planning since the mid-1970s. It replaced the Australian two-dollar note due to having a longer circulatory life. The only "mint set only" year was 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian one-cent coin</span> Former denomination of Australian currency

The cent, formally the one-cent coin, was the lowest-denomination coin of the Australian dollar. It was introduced on 14 February 1966 in the decimalisation of Australian currency and was withdrawn from circulation in 1992. It is still minted as a non-circulating coin. A one-cent coin in 1966 would have a purchasing power equal to about 16c in 2023 values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian two-cent coin</span> Former denomination of Australian currency

The Australian two-cent coin was introduced in 1966 and was the coin of the second-lowest denomination until it was withdrawn from circulation in 1992. It is still counted as legal tender, but is subject to some restrictions, and two-cent coins are legal tender only up to the sum of 20 cents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coins of the Australian pound</span>

Pre-decimal Australian coins arose when the Federation of Australia gave the constitutional power to Commonwealth of Australia to mint its own coinage in 1901. The new power allowed the Commonwealth to issue legal tender rather than individually through the six former British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia.

The coins of the Australian dollar were introduced on 14 February 1966, although they did not at that time include the one-dollar or two-dollar coins. The dollar was equivalent in value to 10 shillings in the former currency.

The coins of the New Zealand dollar are used for the smallest physical currency available in New Zealand. The current denominations are ten cents, twenty cents, fifty cents, one dollar and two dollars. The $1 and $2 coins are minted in a gold colour, the 20c and 50c coins are silver colour and the 10c coin is plated in copper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixpence (Australian)</span> Australian coin

The Australian sixpence circulated from 1910 up until the decimalisation of Australian Currency in 1966. The coins were initially minted in England; however, Australia began to mint their own from the year of 1916 at branches of the Royal Mint in Sydney and Melbourne. The coins which made up Australia's pre-decimal currency were identical to British currency in the characteristics of weight and size. The Coinage Act of 1909–1947, authorised the issue of Australian coins in the select denominations, including the sixpence. By 1916 all silver denominations, including the sixpence, could be minted at the Royal Mint branch in Melbourne. Unique Australian currency was created with decimalisation in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halfpenny (Australian)</span>

The Australian pre-decimal halfpenny coin, commonly known as a ha’penny, was the smallest denomination of the Australian Pound in circulation. It was a unit of currency that equalled half of a penny, 1/24 of a shilling, or 1/480 of a pound. The coin was made to be equivalent to the British halfpenny; its dimensions, composition and values were equivalent, and additionally, the two currencies were fixed at par.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coin roll hunting</span>

Coin roll hunting is the hobby of searching and sorting coinage pulled from circulation for collectible coins. This is achieved through obtaining rolled coin, boxed coin, or bagged coin from banks and credit unions. A variant of this practice involves banknotes and is carried out in essentially the same fashion, normally to search for unusual serial numbers, star notes, and misprints.

The New Zealand fifty-cent coin is a coin of the New Zealand dollar. It was the largest by denomination, diameter and mass to have been introduced on the decimalisation of the currency on 10 July 1967, replacing the pre-decimal crown coin. A total of 81,585,200 pre-2006 50 cent coins were issued, with a total value of $40,792,600.00

Prior to European colonization, early Aboriginal Australian communities traded using items such as tools, food, ochres, shells, raw materials and stories, although there is no evidence of the use of currencies.

References

  1. "Silver Price Today". Forbes . Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  2. "LME Copper". The London Metal Exchange . Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  3. "Convert Australian Dollar To United States Dollar". Forbes . Retrieved 11 December 2023.
Preceded by
No modern predecessor
Fifty Cents (Australian)
1966
Succeeded by