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 (half a pound) in the former currency.
"Design of the new decimal currency", first broadcast by the ABC in 1964
The Royal Australian Mint has announced that, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, it will produce one million $1 coins bearing King Charles' face in 2023[1] with the new effigy to fully replace a temporary memorial effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by May 2024.[2] All previous coins have featured a depiction of the monarch on the obverse. Since decimalisation, four different effigies of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia had been used for this purpose. The first effigy was designed by Arnold Machin, the second by Raphael Maklouf, the third by Ian Rank-Broadley and the fourth by artist Jody Clark. They have all been matched with designs by the Australian-born artist Stuart Devlin on the reverse. The set now comprises a 50c, 20c, 10c and 5c coin, all still referred to as "silver", although they consist of 75% copper and 25% nickel. For many years there were also 2c and 1c coins, traditionally called "copper" coins, although they are actually an alloy of copper and zinc.
The "silver" 5c, 10c, and 20c coins can be counted by value using their weight, without the need to count the individual pieces, as they have the same weight per value, at 0.565g per cent, or 56.5g per dollar. This allows banks to count the value of a collection of any combination of those coins.
The original 50c coin was circular and contained 80% silver and 20% copper, and the metal in the coin quickly became worth more than 50c. It had almost identical dimensional specifications to the British half crown coin. However, to avoid confusion with the 20c coin, and because of its excess value, it was only produced for one year and then withdrawn from circulation. No 50-cent coins were minted for 1967 or 1968. The coin was issued in a dodecagonal (12-sided) shape starting in 1969, although the 12-sided version had been minted in 1966–67 as a specimen piece, to test the design. The standard design on both versions of the coin are the same: the obverse carries the effigy of the sovereign, and the reverse shows the coat of arms of Australia, although the coin has been issued with both standard and commemorative designs.[3]
The dodecagonal version has a mass of 15.55g and a diameter of 31.5mm, and the round silver version had a mass of 13.28g and diameter of 31.5mm. 94.13 round 50c coins make up a fine kilogram of silver.
"Gold" one-dollar and two-dollar coins were introduced in the 1980s. The one-dollar coin was introduced in 1984, to replace the banknote of the same value. The two-dollar coin, also replacing a banknote, was introduced in 1988. They have content of 2% nickel, 6% aluminium and 92% copper. The two-dollar coin is smaller in diameter than the one-dollar coin, but the two-dollar is slightly thicker.
Due to the metal exceeding face value, the minting of one- and two-cent coins was discontinued in 1991, and they were withdrawn from circulation. However, as of 1991[update], both coins were minted as collectors' items. Australian coins have medallic orientation, as do most other Commonwealth coins, Japanese yen coins, and euro coins. That is in contrast to coin orientation, which is used in United States coinage.
After the death of Elizabeth II and the change of its Sovereign, new Australian coins began to be minted with King Charles III on their obverse in December 2023. The $1 coin was the first to change over, with the remaining denominations to be periodically changed based on bank demand.[4]
Commemorative coins have been produced for various denominations in various years with imagery representing an event replacing the usual design on the reverse side of the coin. In some years, all the coins of that denomination are replaced with a different design for that year. In other cases, only a few million coins have the commemorative design, and coins with the standard reverse are also released.
No commemorative issues of the 1c coin have been produced, and with the exception of the 2016 issue, there have been no commemorative issues of the 5c and 10c coins. A special 2c coin was released, showcasing one of Stuart Devlin's alternative designs. Many commemorative versions of the 50c coin have been placed in general circulation since 1970. The first $1 coin commemorative issue was in 1986, the first 20c commemorative issue in 1995, and the first $2 commemorative issue in 2012. Mintages reported for these coins vary from around 500,000 to around 50 million.
In 1992 the Mint commenced production of commemorative issues which were not for circulation. Mintages reported for these coins vary from around 5,000 to around 125,000, with the notable exception of the four 25c coins of 2016 which have mintages of 1 million each.
In 2016, to celebrate 50 years of decimal currency, a commemorative design for the obverse of the coins was released. To date this is the only issue where the commemorative design is on the obverse face rather than on the reverse face.
Collectable coins
The Royal Australian Mint regularly releases collectable coins, one of the most famous of which is the 1980–1994 gold two-hundred-dollar coin series.[7] Australian collectable coins are all legal tender[8] and can be used directly as currency or converted to "normal" coinage at a bank. Metals include aluminium bronze, silver, gold and bi-metal coins.[9] Nugget coins are issued in troy ounces and fractions or kilograms and come in gold and platinum, some are denominated in dollars, and others by their weight value.[10]
The New Zealand dollar is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zealand, it is almost always abbreviated with the dollar sign ($). The abbreviations "$NZ" or "NZ$" are used when necessary to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.
The British two pound coin (£2) is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s release. Three different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the current design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. The reverse design features Britannia.
The crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth a quarter of one pound. The crown was first issued during the reign of Edward VI, as part of the coinage of the Kingdom of England.
The Sri Lankan Rupee is the currency of Sri Lanka. It is subdivided into 100 cents, but cents are rarely seen in circulation due to its low value. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The abbreviation Re (singular) and Rs (plural) is generally used, the World Bank suggests SL Rs as a fully disambiguating abbreviation for distinction from other currencies named "rupee".
The gourde or goud is the currency of Haiti. Its ISO 4217 code is HTG and it is divided into 100 centimes (French) or santim (Creole).
There have been three sets of coins in Ireland since independence. In all three, the coin showed a Celtic harp on the obverse. The pre-decimal coins of the Irish punt had realistic animals on the reverse; the decimal coins retained some of these but featured ornamental birds on the lower denominations; and the euro coins used the common design of the euro currencies. The pre-decimal and original decimal coins were of the same dimensions as the same denomination British coins, as the Irish punt was in currency union with the British pound sterling. British coins were widely accepted in Ireland, and conversely to a lesser extent. In 1979 Ireland joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism and the Irish punt left parity with sterling; coin designs introduced after this differed between the two countries.
The coins of the Fijian dollar have been part of the physical form of Fiji's currency, the Fijian dollar.
The Principality of Sealand, a self-proclaimed micronation founded on a former World War II fort in the North Sea, has issued a number of coins and stamps for collectors. These coins and stamps are denominated in "Sealand dollars" (SX$). Sealand coins can be considered souvenirs only or "rounds" since they do not circulate anywhere and are not accepted as currency by any nation.
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.
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.
The Australian ten-cent coin is a coin of the decimal Australian dollar. When the dollar was introduced as half of an Australian pound on 14 February 1966, the coin inherited the specifications of the pre-decimal shilling; both coins were worth one twentieth of a pound and were called "bob". On introduction it was the fourth-lowest denomination coin. Since the withdrawal from circulation of the one and two cent coins in 1992, it has been the second-lowest denomination coin in circulation.
The Australian two-dollar coin is the highest-denomination circulating 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.
Christopher Ironside OBE, FRBS was a British painter and coin designer, particularly known for the reverse sides of the new British coins issued on decimalisation in 1971.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, $1 and $2 coins have been minted in commemoration.
The New Zealand one-dollar coin ($1) is a coin of the New Zealand dollar. The current circulating coin was introduced on 11 February 1991 to replace the existing $1 note. There had previously been occasional issues of commemorative "silver dollars", but they are rarely seen in circulation.
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
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Effigy of Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin displayed on coins minted in 1966
