Australian Mint Coins: A Treasury of Numismatic Excellence

Australian mint coins are circulating and collectible coins minted by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM or RA Mint). This diverse array of coins varies from those used for buying everyday goods to valuable, limited-edition coins sought out by collectors and investors.

Since its founding, the Royal Australian Mint has released some iconic coins and coin series. Some of the most famous Royal Australian Mint coins are:

• 1980 to 1986 Gold $200 Coin Series

• 1-Oz Gold Kangaroo Coins

• 1992 $1 Mob of Roos Circulated Coins

• 2012 $2 Red Poppy Commemorative Coins

• 2013 $2 60th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Color-Printed Coin

• 2015 $2 ANZAC Day Colored Commemorative Coins

• 2023 Sydney Opera House Commemorative Coin Set

Australian coin collecting has only become more popular in recent years, particularly after Queen Elizabeth II’s passing in 2022.

We’ve been in the coin industry for decades, and although we have knowledge on coins worldwide, our Australia-based company is all about celebrating our heritage.

Today, we’re here to share all the insider information you need to know about Australian mint coins in this comprehensive guide. We’ll cover the Royal Australian Mint’s history, the different types of Australian mint coins, which coins are rare or valuable, and some tips for collecting these Australian beauties!

Pictured above: Three 99.9% pure 1 oz silver 2022 Kangaroo Series silver bullion coins from Australian Mint

History of the Australian Mint

The Royal Australian Mint was established relatively recently in the 1960s.

When Australia was federated in 1901, citizens still used British and foreign currency. The first Australian currency (silver coins) came in 1910. This currency was in the British pre-decimal system called Lsd, £sd, or “pounds, shillings and pence.”

The Australian coins were minted by the Sydney Mint, Melbourne Mint, and Perth Mint, each established by Britain as Royal Mint branches in 1855, 1872, and 1899, respectively.

Of the three, the only remaining one is the Perth Mint, which now issues uncirculated Australian coins.

But the Royal Australian Mint still finds ways to honor its predecessors, like creating a limited-edition commemorative coin in pure silver with gold plating for the Sydney Mint’s 150th birthday in 2005.

Opening to Today

Australian pride and identity flourished in the 1960s, as evidenced by programs like the National Trust of Australia (incorporated in 1965), achievements for indigenous Australian rights, and the global spread of various Australian-based media.

Finally, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, officially opened the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra on February 22, 1965, shortly after Federal Treasurer Harold Holt introduced the switch to decimal currency on February 14.

(FYI: Decimal currency (decimalization) can be divided by ten or 100, like 100 cents equalling 1 dollar.)

The mint’s first tasks were to:

1. Switch over to decimal currency (with a conversion of $2 AUD to £1)

2. Create distinct Australian coins and dollars

The Sydney Mint had already closed in 1926, but the Melbourne Mint helped the RAM stock up enough currency before it also closed in 1967. The London Royal Mint also assisted the RAM in striking decimalized coins.

What does the Australian Mint do now?

Today, the Royal Australian Mint’s purposes are:

1. Providing coinage for Australians, collectors, and foreign nations

2. Creating and selling coins and minted products

3. Maintaining the National Coin Collection

4. Serving the public through outreach, online education, and Mint gallery operation

Since its opening, the Royal Australian Mint has been renovated and improved in terms of aesthetics, efficiency, and interactive opportunities. You can even make custom coins using visitor presses!

But most importantly, the Royal Australian Mint creates a variety of coins for everyday use, investment, and collections.

Pictured above: Obverse of 2020 Australia 1 oz Silver Kangaroo coin in 0.999 silver | Image credit: Bruxton, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Types of Australian Mint Coins

The Royal Australian Mint makes all sorts of coins, many of which are valuable to collectors and investors.

Before we get into the different types, we’ll define some general coin types:

• Circulated: Often used to start coin collections; Coins used as currency for everyday purchases

• Uncirculated: Made for collectors, not used as currency; Made from same metals as circulated coins but sharper, clearer, more polished, and better-condition; “Frosted” ones have a frosted background and greater polish

• Proof: Among most valuable collection coins, only minted in limited quantities; Made with precious metals, special dies (stamps), and frosted foreground & mirror-like background

• Antique / Antique-Finish: Handmade to look like antique coins with unique, nostalgic features and finishes

• Investment: Made for investors, more expensive; Highest quality with Extremely Fine, Mint State, or Proof grades; Typically made from high-purity precious metals

Some of these coin types may overlap, too. For example, uncirculated Royal Australian Mint coins may be commemorative, investment-grade, or both.

Let’s start with the Royal Australian Mint’s everyday circulated coins.

Pictured above: 7 post-decimal 1-dollar Australian Mint coins minted from 2001 to 2008

Circulated Coins

Most coins produced by the Royal Australian Mint are basic circulating coins that fall under the decimal denomination. Their resale value doesn’t usually exceed their nominal (face) value.

The general Royal Australian Mint circulated coins are:

• 5-Cent: Circular, milled edge, echidna design

• 10-Cent: Circular, milled edge, lyrebird design

• 20-Cent: Circular, milled edge, platypus design

• 50-Cent: Originally circular with milled edge and 80% silver composition; Changed in 1969 to new composition and dodecagonal shape with plain edges

• One-Dollar: Circular, interrupted milled edge, five-kangaroos design; Introduced in 1984

• Two-Dollar: Circular, interrupted milled edge, design featuring Australian Aboriginal elder with Southern Cross and Australian flora; Introduced in 1988

The cent coins are all 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel (including the 50-cent coin, since 1969). The one- and two-dollar coins are 92 percent copper, 6 percent aluminum, and 2 percent nickel.

The 20-cent, 50-cent, one-dollar, and two-dollar coins are often used for Royal Australian Mint commemorative coins.

Though not in circulation anymore, the RAM also produced bronze 1-cent and 2-cent coins until 1992. The 1-cent coins featured a feather-tailed glider design, while the 2-cent coins depicted a frilled-neck lizard.

Pictured above: 1911 Australian gold sovereign 

Gold Sovereigns

Gold sovereigns are originally British coins named for depicting a large, stately portrait of the “sovereign” monarch on their obverse (front) side. Though originally circulating coins, gold sovereigns are now considered bullion coins (more on bullion coins later).

The gold sovereign coin specs:

• Nominal Value: 1 pound sterling (£1)

• Gold Purity: 22K (91.67% pure gold, 8.33% copper or silver); About 0.235 troy ounces or 0.258 ounces pure gold

• Weight: About 7.99 grams

Fun fact: The first gold sovereigns minted outside of the UK were Australian gold sovereigns!

The Sydney Mint produced distinctive gold sovereigns (and half sovereigns) from 1855 to 1870. In fact, the Sydney Mint was opened in part to turn the gold discovered during the Australian gold rush (1850s to 1890s) into official Australian gold sovereign coins.

Initially, the coins had Queen Victoria on the obverse and “Sydney Mint, Australia, One Sovereign” (or “Half Sovereign” depending on the coin) on the reverse side.

However, Australian gold sovereigns adopted British designs on the reverse from 1871 on, notably the Saint George and the Dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci.

Various versions of Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy were used on the obverse of these Australian mint gold coins from 1953 to 2023. These will be replaced by an effigy of King Charles III by the end of 2023.

Gold sovereigns aren’t used as circulated currency anymore, but they’re a great Australian gold coin to invest in.

Pictured above: Australian $1 coin with Five Kangaroos design| Image credit: Royal Australian Mint, Public domain

Silver Dollars & One-Dollar Coins

Historically, the very first Australian coins in 1910 were silver florins, shillings, sixpences, and threepences depicting King Edward VII.

These Australian mint silver coins followed the British mintage system of using 925 (sterling) silver until 1946; silver coins post-1946 were only 50 percent (low-quality) silver to pay off war debt.

After decimalization, the first Australian one-dollar coins came out in May 1984, replacing the $1 Australian banknote. These 9-gram circulating Australian dollar coins aren’t silver but rather 92% copper with aluminum and nickel.

Circulated silver dollars use the original design of five kangaroos on the reverse side and Elizabeth II on the obverse. Other designs have been used on circulating one-dollar coins, like the Centenary of Scouts Australia commemorative coin introduced in 2008.

The most well-known Australian silver dollar coins are the Silver Kangaroo coins, part of the Royal Australian Mint’s popular Kangaroo Series coins that started in 1993.

These are technically $1 AUD coins but they’re usually proof or frosted uncirculated, making their value higher.

Pictured above: 2010 1/10-oz 24kt Australian gold bullion coin with "Year of the Tiger" theme for Lunar Series

Bullion Coins

Bullion coins are uncirculated investment coins made of precious metals like gold, platinum, silver, and palladium — though usually gold or silver.

These Royal Australian Mint coin values are usually determined by their weight and metal purity — the “spot” cost — along with “premiums” for other costs like labor and distribution.

Compared to proofs, bullion coins are:

1. Less difficult to make

2. Made in larger quantities

3. Less intricate and sometimes less perfect

4. Given more standard finishes

Since the Royal Australian Mint doesn’t refine silver or gold, it doesn’t mint bullion coins. However, the Perth Mint and other coin distributors authorized by the RAM produce bullion, like Australian Gold Nugget coins and ABC Bullion Gold Minted Tablets.

Pictured above: 1982 Australian 50-cent commemorative coin - XII Commonwealth Games | Image credit: Matthew Paul Argall, Flickr, CC-BY-SA-2.0

Commemorative Coins

The Royal Australian Mint is heralded internationally for its top-tier numismatic commemorative coins. These coins celebrate organizations, events, or people that represent important aspects of Australia’s culture and history.

Commemorative coins may be circulated or uncirculated.

Circulated commemorative Royal Australian Mint coins have to follow certain policies, like not depicting individuals (besides the Royal Family), small community interests, political or religious affiliations, or copyrighted material.

Uncirculated commemorative coins have slightly more lenient policies. For instance, they can depict famous Australians outside the Royal Family and even fictional characters.

Many commemorative Australian coins are dodecagonal (twelve-sided) 50-cent coins.

In 1970, the first commemorative 50-cent coins celebrated the 200-year anniversary of the voyage of British explorer James Cook, who made the first European contact with Australia, along with claiming the land for Britain, in 1770.

Other notable Australian 50-cent commemorative coins include:

• 1977 Silver Jubilee coin for Queen Elizabeth II’s 25th year as queen

• 1981 Australia Royal Wedding coin for the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer to Prince Charles

• 1988 Australian Bicentenary coin for 200th anniversary of first British settlement in Australia in 1788

• 2001 Centenary of Federation coins (10 designs) for 100th anniversary of Australian Federation

• 2017 50th Anniversary coin of 1967 referendum that included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the constitution

• 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages coin

In October 2023, the Royal Australian Mint won the Mint Directors Conference in Canada’s Best Circulating Coin award for the commemorative Honey Bee 2022 $2 Coloured Circulating Coin.

Special Edition Coins

Special or limited edition coins are often created for investors and dedicated collectors. They have a limited mintage (meaning a smaller number are struck) and pristine condition, so their rarity and value are higher.

These coins can fall under many of the previous categories and subtypes, such as proof, gold sovereign, investment-grade, commemorative, and more. Limited edition Royal Australian Mint coins are uncirculated.

Rarity & Valuation

Many of the factors that go into a Royal Australian Mint coin’s value are similar to the value factors of other coins:

• Rarity: Coins that were only made in limited numbers or aren’t minted anymore carry significantly higher value than mass-produced coins that are still circulated. For instance, pre-decimal coins, especially pre-1946 silver dollars, are both rare and historically valuable.

• Condition: Like any item, better condition means better value. Therefore, circulated coins usually carry the least value, whereas uncirculated and investment coins have higher value.

• Metal: Coins made with precious metals carry higher value both for the metal’s market value and the coins’ scarcity. As such, a proof, bullion, or gold sovereign will generally be more valuable than a predominantly copper coin (unless the copper coin is rare in other ways).

• Metal Purity: For precious-metal coins, greater purity (fineness) means higher value. A silver coin that’s 75% silver is usually less valuable than one that’s 90% silver.

All of these factors contribute to a Royal Australian Mint coin’s value, as evidenced in some of the most valuable Australian coins listed next.

Pictured above: 1796 Spanish 8 Reales Charles III metal coin with hole in center, counter-stamped as a New South Wales holey dollar in 1813; in the National Historical Collection of the National Museum of Australia | Image credit: Deon Rohmursanto, National Museum of Australia, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Rare & Valuable Australian Coins

Topping the list as the most valuable Australian coin is the Proof 1930 Penny, a coin with sentimental and historical value on top of extreme rarity.

Minted by the Melbourne Mint in 1930 during the Great Depression, they recorded only six of these pennies being struck. Oddly, the Treasury didn’t request any pennies to be struck, so these pennies’ mysterious existence adds to their allure.

A Proof 1930 Penny in peak condition can be $45,000 AUD or higher, with one selling in 2019 for $1.15 million AUD!

Other notably rare and valuable Australian coins include:

• 1988 50-Cent Proof Coat of Arms – Requested as silver commemorative coin but two known versions were error coins, minted with coat of arms on the wrong side; One sold for over $14,000 AUD in 2018

• 1927 Proof Canberra Florin – First commemorative Australian coin, depicted Old Parliament House; Only struck for one year, meaning only 400 ever made; Rarely in good condition; One sold for $30,000 AUD in 2007

• 1939 Silver Florin: New type of silver florin with different legend (“ONE FLORIN-TWO SHILLINGS” changed to “ONE FLORIN”), crown atop coat of arms, country name added, and effigy of King George VI (instead of King George V); Much lower mintage of 630,000 (previous year’s mintage was 2.99 million)

• 1813 to 1829 Australian Holey Dollars & Dumps: Small circular coin (dump) and donut-shaped coin (holey dollar) created from punching hole in Spanish dollar coins, then restriking each with new design; Among first Australian coins struck & first distinctly Australian currency; Of 40,000 circulated, most were exchanged or melted into bullion, with probably 350 holey dollars and 1,500 dumps still existing; A 1913 holey dollar with one-of-a-kind “Hannibal Head” portrait (unflattering imaginary depiction of Spanish King Joseph I) discovered in 1881 sold in 2018 for $500,000

• Sydney Mint Patterns – Gold Sovereign and Half Sovereign coin pair, one of only 4 sets made; First coins designed for Australian minting and produced (for testing designs) by British Royal Mint in 1953

• 2000 $1/10c Mules — $1 error coins minted struck with 10-cent obverse die (stamp); One sold in 2023 for $3,000

• 2007 Double Obverse 5-Cent — 5-cent error coins struck with obverse die on both sides; Worth $500 to $1,500 AUD if authentic and good-condition

Interested in starting your own Australian coin collection?

Pictured above: Parcel of 4 50-cent Australian Mint coins minted in 1970, 1981, 1995, and 2001

Collecting Australian Mint Coins

Coins are one of the most common collectible items, and for good reason! Coin collecting goes back centuries among nobility but luckily is a more accessible hobby today.

Not everyone collects coins for the investment value, though that is a common reason and added benefit. Some collect coins for the historical value, challenge of finding rare coins, appreciation of the artistry, or even just the meditative process of organizing your coins.

If you’re just starting out, here are some tips for collecting Australian mint coins:

1. Start Small. Most of us can’t drop hundreds of dollars, and it’s more rewarding to complete a set first. Check your loose change first before moving up to uncirculated or proof coins.

2. Choose What You Like. Go with what tickles your fancy, not what people say you should have. If you love Australian animals, you can look for coins in the iconic Kangaroo Series or the Australian Silver Koala.

3. Take Care of Your Coins. Whether or not you’re collecting for investment reasons, it’s always best to properly handle and store coins. That means wearing latex or cotton gloves to touch the coins and keeping coins in their original packaging when possible or finding protective storage containers.

4. Be Patient. Coin collecting is a rewarding lifetime hobby, and you’re more likely to find high-quality coins by not jumping the gun on purchases and giving yourself time to build your sets.

5. Make A Plan. It’s important to know how much a specific set will cost, so doing the research, making your coin list, and budgeting accordingly to fill out your collection can help keep you on track and avoid impulse buys or accidental duplicates.

If you don’t know which series to start with, you can start by getting familiar with some of the Royal Australian Mint’s stunning limited edition series.

Pictured above: 2010 1-oz 24kt Australian Kangaroo series gold proof coin with "Boxing Kangaroo" design

Unique Features & Limited Editions

The Royal Australian Mint is always coming up with new limited edition coins and coin series, meaning there’s always more collectible coins to look forward to.

Among the most recent releases in November 2023, the Royal Australian Mint put out a series of commemorative coins memorializing the late Queen Elizabeth II. This series includes:

• 25,000 50-Cent Uncirculated Coins

• 7,500 50-Cent Fine Silver Proof Coins

• 5,000 “Mini Money Emu” $5 0.5-gram Gold Frosted Uncirculated Coins

As mentioned earlier, the Kangaroo Series is another iconic ever-expanding set beloved by collectors. Available in fine gold or silver, kangaroo coin denominations include:

• $15 0.10-oz coin

• $25 0.25-oz coin

• $50 0.50-oz coin

• $100 1-oz coin

• $3,000 1-kg coin

One of the Kangaroo Series coins even set a record as the world’s largest gold coin!

The Perth Mint minted the "1 Tonne Australian Kangaroo" gold bullion coin in 2012 with a face value of $1 million AUD. The coin was 99.99 percent pure gold, 80 centimeters wide, 12 centimeters thick, and 2,231 pounds.

A new Kangaroo Series is released annually. Most recently in October 2023, the mint released $100 1-oz ‘C” Mintmark Gold Proof coins depicting a mob of 30 kangaroos for the series’ 30th anniversary.

Love the holiday season? Then you may want to check out the newer Royal Australian Mint Christmas decoration coin series. Started in 2019, these uncirculated 50-cent coins are more affordable with unlimited mintage, making them a great starting set!

Pictured above: 2011 1-oz Australian Silver Koala bullion coin

Celebrate Down-Under Charm with Australian Mint Coins!

The Royal Australian Mint has only been around for a few decades, but it’s made a huge splash in the coin world.

The mint’s artistry and innovation have garnered numerous international awards, but they maintain their hospitality and diversity with plenty of options for both beginner coin collectors and investors alike.

We can help you start or expand your Australian coin collection with our extensive selection of Australian mint coins, both old and new!

Buy Australian coins from us today!