Decimal currency has been in use in Australia for 38 years. Collecting decimal coins has become very popular. Circulation coins and
non-circulation Mint set only coins are released each year by the Royal
Australian Mint.
Coins are released into circulation based on demand.
If there is little or no demand for a certain denomination then that coin’s
mintage is adjusted accordingly. This could result in either a reduced mintage
or not being minted at all. For example, with an excess of 10 cent coins in
circulation in 1995 it was not necessary to produce more for that year. This was
still the case in 1996 and in 1997 only 5,699,000 coins were issued to cater for
that year’s demand.
Each year’s circulation coins are always produced for
inclusion in that year’s uncirculated coin set. The difficulty for decimal coin
collectors is that when a coin is not issued into general circulation they must
purchase the full uncirculated coin set in order to obtain the individual coin
that they want. Quite often collectors don’t realise this and spend years
looking for a coin that was not circulated. Some of the mint set only coins can
be quite difficult to obtain with a price to match.
To make it easier for you to identify which coins were
not issued into general circulation we have put together a quick reference.
| $2.00 Coin |
Issued - 1988 to current
Issued Mint Set only - 1991 |
| $1.00 Coin |
Issued - 1984 to current
Issued Mint Set only - 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991
General circulation $1 coins that were not Kangaroo design were the 1986 Peace, 1988 Bicentenary, 1993 Water is Life, 1994 both the standard Kangaroo design and the Decade of the Dollar design were issued, 1996 Henry Parkes, 1997 Kingsford Smith Plane, 1999 Year of the Older Persons, 2001 Federation, 2001 Year of the Volunteer, 2002 Year of the Outback, 2003 Centenary of Womens Suffrage, 2003 Celebrating Volunteers.
The following $1 coins were issued in Mint packs from the Royal Australian Mint or various Coin Fairs and Shows with most including a Mintmark.
1992 Barcelona - no mintmark
1993 Landcare - C S M
1994 Decade of the Dollar - C S M
1995 Waltzing Matilda - C S M B
1996 Henry Parkes - C S M B A
1997 Kingsford Smith - C S M B A
1998 Howard Florey - C S M B A
1999 Last ANZACS - C S M B A
2000 HMAS II - C S
2000 Olymphilex - C S
2000 Victoria Cross - no mintmark
2001 Army - C S
2001 Air force - no mintmark
2001 Navy - no mintmark
2002 Year of the Outback - C S M B
2003 Vietnam Veterans - no mintmark
2003 Korean War - C S B M
2004 Eureka Stockade - C S B E M
2005 90th Anniversary of Gallipoli - C
|
| 50 cent coin |
Issued - 1966 to current
Issued Mint Set only - 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992
The 50 cent coin was not issued at all in 1967 and 1968.
The general circulation 50 cent coins that were not the coat of arms design are the 1970 Captain Cook, 1977 Jubilee, 1981 Royal Wedding, 1982 Commonwealth Games, 1988 Bicentenary, 1991 25th anniversary of decimal currency, 1994 Year of the Family, 1995 Weary Dunlop, 1998 Bass & Flinders, 2000 Millennium, 2000 Royal Visit, 2001 Federation as well as 9 different State and Territory issues, 2002 Year of the Outback, 2003 Celebrating Volunteers, 2004 Student Design was issued as a circulation coin as well as in a pack from the RAM.
There has also been two 50 cent coins that have only been released in the First Day Stamp Cover with Coin. The 2002 Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee 50 cent and the 2003 Coronation Golden Jubilee 50 cent that is also the first 50 cent coin struck in aluminium/bronze.
|
| 20 cent coin |
Issued - 1966 to current
Issued Mint Set only - 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
In 1995 there was both a platypus 20 cent and a United Nations commemorative issue. In 2001 as well as the standard platypus design there was the Don Bradman issue, and the 9 Federation State and Territory issues. 2003 Celebrating Volunteers.
In 1983 20 cent coins were minted for circulation but due to being no demand for them they were melted down and have now become scarce to find, other then in Mint Sets.
|
| 10 cent coin |
Issued - 1966 to current
Issued Mint Set only - 1986, 1987, 1995, 1996 |
| 5 cent coin |
Issued - 1966 to current
Issued Mint Set only - 1985, 1986 |
| 2 cent coin |
Issued - 1966 to 1991
Issued Mint Set only - 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991 |
| 1 cent coin |
Issued - 1966 to 1991
Issued Mint Set only - 1986, 1991 |
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