Coins of the Australian dollar were introduced on 14 February 1966, although they did not at that time include one-dollar or two-dollar coins. The dollar was equivalent in value to 10 shillings in the former currency (half of a pound).
Video Coins of the Australian dollar
Regular coinage
Produced by the Royal Australian Mint, all current coins portray Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the obverse, with the present effigy having been designed by Ian Rank-Broadley. This is matched with designs by the Australian-born artist Stuart Devlin on the reverse. They now comprise 50¢, 20¢, 10¢ and 5¢ coins--all still referred to as 'silver' though actually 75% copper and 25% nickel, and for many years there were also "bronze" 2¢ and 1¢ coins.
The 50¢ coin originally had a circular shape, and contained 80% silver and 20% copper, so that the material of the coin was worth more than 50¢. It was made to almost identical dimensional specifications as the British 2'6 pence half crown. However, to avoid confusion among the round coins, and because of its excess value, it was only produced for one year then withdrawn from circulation; there were no 50-cent coins minted for 1967 or 1968. It was changed to a 12-sided shape for 1969 and all following years, but the 12-sided issue was minted as a specimen piece in 1966-67 to test the design. It has since been issued in both standard and commemorative designs.
The standard designs 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. The dodecagonal version has a mass of 15.55 g and a diameter of 31.5 mm, and the round silver version has a mass of 13.28 g and diameter of 31.5 mm. 94.13 Australian 1966 round 50¢ 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. These have content of 2% nickel, 6% aluminium and 92% copper. Thus, all Australian coins in use currently are composed of more than half copper. The two-dollar coin is smaller in diameter than the one-dollar coin, but the two-dollar is slightly thicker.
The one- and two-cent coins were discontinued in 1991 due to the metal exceeding face value and were withdrawn from circulation.
Australian coins have medallic orientation, as do most other Commonwealth coinage, Japanese yen coinage, and euro coinage. This is in contrast to coin orientation, which is used in United States coinage.
Table
Maps Coins of the Australian dollar
Commemorative coins
Many special versions of the 20¢, 50¢, $1 and $2 coins have been produced, with imagery representing an event replacing the usual design on the reverse side of the coin. For some years, all the coins are replaced with a different design for that year. In other cases, only a few coins have the new design, which are released as special commemorative coins, although many usually end up in circulation.
In 2012, a commemorative $2 coin was produced depicting a poppy for Remembrance Day and in 2013, a coloured purple coin for the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. In 2016 a commemorative 25¢ coin was produced for Anzac Day with four million coins minted. In 2016, to celebrate 50 years of decimal currency, a commemorative design for the tails of the coins was released.
Collectable coins
The Royal Australian Mint regularly releases collectable coins, one of the most famous of which is the gold two-hundred-dollar coin. 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, 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
- Coins of the New Zealand dollar
- Swedish rounding
Notes
References and further reading
Source of article : Wikipedia
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