The Australian twenty-cent coin (Quinter) of the Australian decimal currency system was issued with conversion to

decimal currency Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

on 14 February 1966, replacing the

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

which was worth two

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s, a tenth of a pound. To date, four different obverse face designs have been used: from 1966 to 1984, the head of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Arnold Machin Arnold Machin OBE, R.A., FRSS (; 30 September 1911 – 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer. Life Machin was born Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china pai ...

; from 1985 to 1998, the head by

Raphael Maklouf Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculpture, sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations ...

; from 1999 to 2019, the head by

Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS (born 1952) is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage and the memorial statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in London unveiled on her 60th ...

; and since 2019, the head by

Jody Clark Jody Clark (born 1 March 1981) is a British engraver formerly employed by the Royal Mint. He designed the fifth and final portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to feature on coins of the pound sterling, and that portrait was the fifth and final to f ...

. The obverse has the inscription AUSTRALIA and the year-of-issue on the right hand side, and ELIZABETH II on the left hand side. From 1966 to 1994, the design for the reverse face was

Stuart Devlin Stuart Leslie Devlin (9 October 1931 – 12 April 2018) was an Australian artist and metalworker who specialised in gold and silver. He designed coins for countries around the world, and became especially well known as London-based design ...

's platypus. With the exception of commemorative issues, it continues to be the standard design for the reverse face. The United Nations 20c was the first commemorative coin issued for circulation in 1995. 20c coins are legal tender for amounts not exceeding $5 for any payment of a debt.

Commemorative coins

There have been various commemorative issues with following reverse face designs: *1995: 50th Anniversary of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(with the UN emblem). *2001: Commemoration for Sir

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

(1908–2001). *2001: Centenary of

Australian Federation The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western A ...

: a set of nine

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s; six for the states, two for the territories and one for

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. The designs were made by students from each of the areas. *2003: Commemorating Australia's

Volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s. "AUSTRALIA'S VOLUNTEERS - MAKING A DIFFERENCE" *2005: 60 years since the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with ''WORLD WAR 1939-1945 COMING HOME''. The design was inspired by a photo from the Australian War Memorial collection. *2010: Centenary of the

Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...

. *2011: Wedding of HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. *2011: Centenary of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

. *2011: 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers. ( IYV +10) *2013: Centenary of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

*2016: 50th Anniversary of decimal currency - unusually for Australian coins, this is a commemorative obverse; the reverse is as normal.

Varieties

Excepting commemorative varieties, there have been a number of varieties of regular issue coins identified by collectors, on both the obverse and reverse faces. The first of these seen is a highly prized variety of the 1966 issue, with a "wave" on the top of the bottom stroke of the 2 in "20" on the reverse face. These coins are now sold for over $200, depending on condition. Other varieties of the reverse face generally involve the length and number of the claws of the platypus. These are prone to change if incorrect stamping pressure is used in creation of dies for the coins. Such variations are most frequently seen on coins produced at foreign mints. For the Broadley head obverse, to date there have been several variations: *1999 with thicker lettering. *2000–2003 slightly reduced lettering by 0.01 mm. *The 2004 issue had two forms: **"the small head": a head reduced all around by 2 mm, and thicker lettering. The version was in general circulation. **"the large head": an issue identical to the 2000–03 obverse. This version was only available in mint packs though, it is rarely found in circulation. *2005 non-commemorative and subsequent issues have reverted to "the large head" obverse. *The 2005 WWII commemorative issue had an even larger head.

1981 Mintings

In 1981, a large number of 20-cent coins were required, far more than the capacity of the

Royal Australian Mint The Royal Australian Mint is the sole producer of all of Australia's circulating coins and is a Commonwealth Government entity operating within the portfolio of the Treasury. The Mint is situated in the Australian federal capital city of Canberr ...

facility in Canberra, leading to some coins being minted at other facilities. The Canadian impression of the 20-cent coin is known as the "Ottawa Mint" version, which may be misleading as, post 1976, the Ottawa Mint only produced precious metal commemorative coins, like the

Perth Mint The Perth Mint is Australia's official bullion mint and wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Established on 20 June 1899, two years before Australia's Federation in 1901, the Perth Mint was the last of three Australian colonia ...

, meaning the coins may have been produced at the

Royal Canadian Mint }) is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the Mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures ...

's Winnipeg facilities. Due to differences in the milling and annealing process, the Canadian variety of the 1981 20-cent coin is distinctive to attentive collectors and even cash handlers. The top and bottom edges of the milling is rounded over, not squared like the Australian and London varieties, and despite being in circulation for well over 25 years, even when well worn, the fields remain shiny, and not dulled like those produced at other mints. These qualities are also observed in Canadian coinage of similar ages. Some of the Canadian coins were produced with a shortened first toe on the right claw. These are referred to as the " claw" variety.

Mintages

The quantity of 1981 and 1982 mintages of the 20-cent coin was sufficient to not require many coins released for circulation until 1990. The 1983 and 1984 coins were struck for circulation with mintages of 55.11 million and 27.82 million coins respectively, but were never released for general circulation. Later they were resmelted by the Royal Australian Mint, leaving the coins relatively rare. Significant premiums have been paid for a small number of mint rolls from these years that have shown up in auctions. The Royal Australian Mint website reports an issue of 2.7 million coins for 1985, but no 20c was minted for 1988. None were released in 1983-84 and there were no coins minted for circulation in 1986–1993 and 1995 (Standard platypus design only)

References

External links