Coins of the Australian dollar facts for kids

The coins of the Australian dollar were first used on 14 February 1966. At that time, they didn't include the one-dollar or two-dollar coins. The dollar was worth the same as 10 shillings (which was half of an Australian pound) from the old money system.

Regular Australian Coins

The Royal Australian Mint makes all Australian coins. Until 2022, when she passed away, all current coins showed four different pictures (called effigies) of Elizabeth II, who was the Queen of Australia. These pictures were designed by different artists: Arnold Machin, Raphael Maklouf, Ian Rank-Broadley, and Jody Clark. The designs on the back of the coins were all created by the Australian artist Stuart Devlin.

Today, the set of coins includes 50¢, 20¢, 10¢, and 5¢ coins. Even though they are sometimes called "silver" coins, they are actually made of 75% copper and 25% nickel. For many years, there were also 2¢ and 1¢ coins. These were called "copper" coins, but they were actually an alloy (a mix of metals) of copper and zinc.

The first 50¢ coin was round and made of 80% silver and 20% copper. Soon, the metal in this coin became worth more than 50 cents! It looked very similar to the old British half crown coin. To avoid confusion with the 20¢ coin and because its metal was too valuable, it was only made for one year and then taken out of use. No 50-cent coins were made in 1967 or 1968.

Starting in 1969, the 50¢ coin was made in a dodecagonal (12-sided) shape. (The 12-sided version had actually been made in 1966–67 as a test coin.) The main design on both versions of the coin is the same: the front shows the Queen, and the back shows the coat of arms of Australia. However, many special designs have also been used for the 50¢ coin.

The 12-sided 50¢ coin weighs 15.55 grams and is 31.5 mm wide. The old round silver version weighed 13.28 grams and was also 31.5 mm wide.

The "gold" one-dollar and two-dollar coins were introduced in the 1980s. The one-dollar coin came out in 1984. It replaced the paper banknote that had the same value. The two-dollar coin, which also replaced a banknote, was introduced in 1988. These coins are made of 92% copper, 6% aluminium, and 2% nickel. The two-dollar coin is smaller around than the one-dollar coin, but it is a bit thicker.

Because the metal in the one-cent and two-cent coins became worth more than their face value, they stopped being made in 1991. They were then taken out of circulation. However, since 1991, both coins have been made for people who collect coins.

Australian coins have a "medallic" coin orientation. This means that if you hold the coin with the top of the design facing up and then flip it over from side to side, the design on the back will also be right-side up. Most other Commonwealth coins, Japanese yen coins, and euro coins are like this. This is different from "coin orientation," which is used in United States coinage.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, new Australian coins will feature the picture of King Charles III on their front, starting from 2023.

Australian Coin Details

Australian coins

Image		Value	Technical details				Description			First made
Front	Back		Diameter	Thickness	Weight	What it's made of	Edge	Front design	Back design
		1¢	17.65 mm	>1.4 mm	2.60 g	97% copper 2.5% zinc 0.5% tin	Smooth	Queen Elizabeth II	Feathertail glider	1966–1991 (no longer used)
		2¢	21.59 mm	<1.9 mm	5.20 g				Frill-necked lizard
		5¢	19.41 mm	1.3 mm	2.83 g	Cupronickel 75% copper 25% nickel	Ridged	Queen Elizabeth II	Echidna	1966
		10¢	23.60 mm	1.5 mm	5.65 g				Superb lyrebird
		20¢	28.65 mm	2.0 mm	11.3 g				Platypus
		50¢	Dodecagon 31.65 mm (across flats)	2.0 mm	15.55 g		Smooth		Coat of arms	1969
		$1	25.00 mm	2.8 mm	9.00 g	92% copper 6% aluminium 2% nickel	Broken ridges	Queen Elizabeth II	Five kangaroos	1984
		$2	20.50 mm	3.0 mm	6.60 g				Aboriginal elder and Southern Cross	1988

Commemorative Coins

Australian commemorative coins

Commemorative coins are special coins made for different events or anniversaries. They have a unique design on the back instead of the usual one. Sometimes, all the coins of a certain value for that year will have the special design. Other times, only a few million coins have the commemorative design, and regular coins are still made too.

No special 1¢ coins were ever made. Except for a 2016 issue, there haven't been any special 5¢ and 10¢ coins either. A special 2¢ coin was released once, showing one of Stuart Devlin's other designs. Many special 50¢ coins have been put into circulation since 1970. The first special $1 coin was in 1986, the first special 20¢ coin in 1995, and the first special $2 coin in 2012. The number of these coins made can be anywhere from about 500,000 to 50 million.

In 1992, the Mint started making special coins that were not meant to be used in everyday shopping. The number of these coins made is usually much smaller, from about 5,000 to 125,000. However, four special 25¢ coins made in 2016 had a larger number of 1 million each.

In 2016, to celebrate 50 years of Australia's decimal currency (our current money system), a special design was put on the *front* of the coins. This is the only time the special design has been on the front instead of the back.

Collectable Coins

The Royal Australian Mint often releases coins specifically for collectors. One famous example is the gold two-hundred-dollar coin series made from 1980 to 1994. Australian collectable coins are still "legal tender." This means they can be used as money, or you can exchange them for regular coins at a bank.

These collectable coins are made from different metals like aluminium bronze, silver, gold, and even two different metals combined (bi-metal). There are also "Nugget coins" that come in gold and platinum. Some of these are given a dollar value, while others are valued by their weight.

See also

• List of people who have appeared on Australian currency
• Coins of the Canadian dollar
• Coins of the New Zealand dollar
• Swedish rounding

Images for kids

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  Effigy of Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin displayed on coins minted in 1966