Coins of the Australian dollar
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Coins of the
Australian dollar The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island s ...
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 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 or ...
(half a pound) in the former currency.


Regular coinage

Produced by 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 ...
, all current
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 have featured four versions of the effigy of Her Majesty
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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, former
Queen of Australia Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...
, on the
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
. The first effigy was designed 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 ...
, the second effigy 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 ...
, the third effigy 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 the fourth effigy by artist
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 ...
. They have all been matched with designs by the
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n-born artist
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 ...
on the reverse. The set now comprises a 50c, 20c, 10c and 5c coin, all still referred to as "
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
", although they consist of 75%
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and 25%
nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
. For many years there were also 2c and 1c coins, traditionally called "copper" coins, although they are actually an alloy of
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
. 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 The British half crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound, or two shillings and six pence (abbreviated "2/6", familiarly "two and six"), or 30 (old) pence. The half crown was first issued in 1549, in the reign of Edward ...
. 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
dodecagon In geometry, a dodecagon or 12-gon is any twelve-sided polygon. Regular dodecagon A regular dodecagon is a figure with sides of the same length and internal angles of the same size. It has twelve lines of reflective symmetry and rotational sym ...
al (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. The dodecagonal version has a mass of 15.55 g and a diameter of 31.5 mm, and the round silver version had a mass of 13.28 g and diameter of 31.5 mm. 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 Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
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, both coins are now minted as collectors items. Australian coins have
medallic orientation Coin orientation (or coin alignment or variations of these) is the relation of the vertical orientation of the images on the obverse and reverse sides of coins to one another. The two basic relations are called ''medallic orientation'' and ''coi ...
, as do most other
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
coins,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...
coins, and
euro coins There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros (the euro is divided into a hundred cents). The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone ...
. That is in contrast to
coin orientation Coin orientation (or coin alignment or variations of these) is the relation of the vertical orientation of the images on the obverse and reverse sides of coins to one another. The two basic relations are called ''medallic orientation'' and ''coi ...
, which is used in
United States coinage 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 make up a valuable aspect of the United States United States currency, currency syste ...
. After the death of Elizabeth II, new Australian coins will have the effigy of King Charles III on their obverse, starting from 2023.


Table

Image:Aus coins queen elizabeth 1966.jpg, Effigy of
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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
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 ...
displayed on coins minted in 1966.


Commemorative coins

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 coin commemorative issue was in 1986, the first 20c commemorative issue in 1995, and the first 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 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 ...
regularly releases collectable coins, one of the most famous of which is the 1980-199
gold two-hundred-dollar coin
series. Australian collectable coins are all legal tender and can be used directly as currency or converted to "normal" coinage at a bank. Metals include
aluminium bronze Aluminium bronze is a type of bronze in which aluminium is the main alloying metal added to copper, in contrast to standard bronze (copper and tin) or brass (copper and zinc). A variety of aluminium bronzes of differing compositions have found in ...
, silver, gold and bi-metal coins. Nugget coins are issued in ounces and fractions or kilograms and come in gold and platinum, some are denominated in dollars, and others by their weight value.


See also

*
List of people who have appeared on Australian currency This is a list of people who have appeared on currency issued by Australia since that country introduced its own notes and coins in 1910. Those appearing on the current series are shown in bold. Legend: * N = note * C = coin * P = primary image ...
*
Coins of the Canadian dollar The coins of Canada are produced by the Royal Canadian Mint and denominated in Canadian dollars ($) and the subunit of dollars, cents (¢). An effigy of the reigning monarch always appears on the obverse of all coins. There are standard images wh ...
*
Coins of the New Zealand dollar 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 go ...
*
Swedish rounding Cash rounding or Swedish rounding (New Zealand English) occurs when the minimum unit of account is smaller than the lowest physical denomination of currency. The amount payable for a cash transaction is rounded to the nearest multiple of the min ...


Notes


References and further reading

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