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withdrawn from circulation in 1992 (along with the
one-cent piece). It is still counted as legal tender, but is subject to some restrictions, and
one-cent and two-cent coins are legal tender only up to the sum of 20 cents.
History
The coin entered circulation on 14 February 1966. In its first year of minting the coin was manufactured at three different mints: 145.2 million at 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 ...
in
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 ...
, 66.6 million at the
Melbourne Mint
The Melbourne Mint, in Melbourne, Australia, was a branch of the British Royal Mint. It minted gold sovereigns from 1872 until 1931, and half-sovereigns (intermittently) from 1873 until 1915. In 1916 it commenced minting Commonwealth silver ...
and 217.7 million at 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 ...
. The only year that the coins were minted outside Australia was 1981, when 70.8 million were struck at the British
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins.
Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
in
Llantrisant
Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are SS ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, in addition to 97.4 million from Canberra and 81.8 million from Perth. No two cent coins were struck in 1986 or 1987 and the last year of minting was 1989.
From 1966 until 1984 the obverse featured the portrait 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 ...
by
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 ...
. It was changed in 1985 to a version 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 ...
, which remained until its withdrawal from circulation in 1992.
The 2c was only minted for coin sets in the following years: 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, and finally, 2006.
The decision to remove it was confirmed in the Treasurer's budget speech of 21 August 1990. The removed was due to
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
reducing its value, and the high cost of bronze. 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 replaced their bronze one and two pence coins with copper-plated steel coins. After removal from circulation, some of the coins were melted down to make
bronze medal
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
s for the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
.
Press Release from the Royal Australian Mint
7 June 2000,
Features
The reverse side of the coin features the image of a Frill-necked lizard
The frilled lizard (''Chlamydosaurus kingii''), also known as the frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. This species is the only member o ...
(''Chlamydosaurus kingii''), a reptile native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
. The image was designed by 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 ...
, who designed the reverses of all Australian decimal coins introduced in 1966.
References
Sources
*
Prospect Stamps and Coins
Decimal coins of Australia
Two-cent coins
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