Pre-Decimal Australian Coins: Types & Historical Significance

Pre-decimal Australian coins are historical coins minted in Australia before the 1960s, specifically from 1910 to 1966. They include coins like the shilling, florin, threepence, sovereign, and more.

Nowadays, you’ll see Australian currency is AUD, AU$, or the Australian dollar. From there, coins are divided into units of 10, with 100 cents equalling a dollar. This is decimal currency, introduced in 1966.

What was the currency in Australia before decimals? For many years, Australia used the British imperial currency system of pounds, shillings, and pence.

Australia’s journey to decimalized currency is fascinating, with plenty of coins along the way. Today, we’ve harnessed our years of expertise here at Coins Auctioned to break down all the history, designs, and types of pre-decimal Australian coins.

Pictured above: Reverses of pre-decimal Australian coins minted from 1910s to 1930s; Top row: 1911 penny, 1924 half penny, 1927 commemorative florin; Bottom row: 1928 threepence, 1928 sixpence, 1936 shilling, 1936 florin; Far right: 1937 crown | Image credit: Designguy84, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Evolution of Australian Currency

When Britain first officially colonized Australia in 1788, they sent British coinage for the settlers to use.

Colonization expanded during the 1800s and Britain neglected to send more coinage, so settlers used a combination of English coinage, foreign currency, and bartering items like rum or wheat.

Technically, the first Australian coins were created in 1813: the holey dollar and dump, worth 5 shillings and 15 pence, respectively. Both were made by punching out the middle of British-sent Spanish dollars — the small center was the dump, while the ring was the holey dollar.

Important subsequent developments in old Australian currency and coins included:

• First bank, Bank of New South Wales, established in 1817

• British legislation passed to introduce sterling coinage as standard currency with fixed exchange rates in all its territories (including Australia) in 1825, officially establishing Australian pound

• End of foreign coins as legal tender in 1829

• First Royal Mint branch, Sydney Mint, opened in 1855 for minting newly discovered Australian gold into half sovereigns & sovereigns

• Melbourne Mint opened in 1872 to help with sovereign & half sovereign production

• Perth Mint opened in 1899 to mint circulation coins, sovereigns, and half sovereigns for British empire & Western Australia

By 1901, the six self-governing Australian colonies federated, becoming states and forming the Commonwealth of Australia. The states used a combination of imported British coins, locally minted sovereigns & half sovereigns, and local bank or treasury notes for the next nine years.

Pictured above: Reverse of 1900 pre-decimal Australian gold sovereign coin

Introducing Official Australian Currency

Australia established their first official coinage by passing the Coinage Act 1909, which designated equal legal tender for “British coins” and “Australian coins.” It also allowed the Treasurer to decide on the specifications of Australian coins.

The Australian Parliament established Australia’s national currency, fixed in value to sterling with banknotes redeemable in gold, by passing the Australian Notes Act 1910.

The Royal Mint in London issued the first Australian coins in 1910.

Australia kept the Australian pound fixed to the British pound value. The nation followed Britain in being on or off the gold standard, off in 1914 then back on (for bullion) in 1925.

That changed in 1929 when Australia abandoned the gold standard during the Great Depression, slightly devaluing the Australian pound.

In 1931, the Australian pound was devalued to 25 percent when Australia set the exchange rate to £1 GBP sterling = £1 Australian and 5 shillings.

This exchange rate remained until decimalization began.

Ending Pre-Decimal Currency

On February 14, 1965, Federal Treasurer Harold Holt announced that Australian currency would be decimalized. Within the month, Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh opened the Royal Australian Mint (RAM).

RAM helped the nation switch to the new decimal currency — with a $2 AUD to £1 conversion rate — and established new Australian coins and dollars, ending the pre-decimal old Australian currency.

Types of Pre-Decimal Australian Coins

Pre-decimal Australian coin values were based on the British £sd (Lsd) system — pounds, shillings, and pence. Here’s a quick conversion breakdown:

1. Pound (£1) = 20 shillings, 240 pence

2. Shilling (1/–) = 1/20 pound, 12 pence

3. Pence / Penny (1d) = 1/240 pound, 1/12 shilling, 2 half pennies

(FYI: “Pence” is the plural of “penny” in terms of value, while “pennies” is the plural for the physical coins.)

Touching on the compositions, the half penny and penny shared a bronze composition — 97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin — for their entire runs.

The other coins were all silver: threepence, sixpence, shilling, florin, and crown. They were sterling silver — 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper — until after WWII. Since the silver value increased, the silver content decreased. The new compositions were 50% silver, 40% copper, 5% zinc, and 5% nickel.

Below is our complete pre-decimal Australian coins list:

Pictured above: Obverse and reverse of 1942 Australian half penny

Half Penny

The pre-decimal Australian coin with the smallest face value is the half penny, commonly called the “ha’penny” (pronounced heɪpəni or hay-puh-nee).

Here are the Australian half penny specs:

• Nicknames: Ha’penny, Bob (debated)

• Years: 1911-1964 (except 1937 & 1956-1958)

• Face Value: 1/2d

• Weight: 5.67 g

• Diameter: 25.5 mm

• Composition: Bronze

• Edge: Plain

Many mints created Australian half pennies: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Calcutta (India), Bombay (India), London (England), and Birmingham (England).

Pictured above: Obverse and reverse of 1920 Australian penny | Image credit: 5snake5, Public domain

Penny

The half penny’s bronze partner, the penny was minted for Australia starting in 1910 but first minted in Australia in 1919.

The Australian pre-decimal penny specs:

• Nicknames: None

• Years: 1911-1964 (except 1937 & 1954)

• Face Value: 1d

• Weight: 9.45 g

• Diameter: 30.8 mm

• Composition: Bronze

• Edge: Plain

Technically, pennies weren’t supposed to be minted in 1930 because of the Great Depression. However, the Melbourne Mint struck and released a limited number (1600 estimated), which are incredibly valuable now.

Speaking of mints, pennies were created by the same mints that made half pennies: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Calcutta, Bombay, London, and Birmingham.

Pictured above: Reverse of 1958 Australian threepence coin | Image credit: Ways, CC-BY-SA-3.0

Threepence

The threepence coin (pronounced thruh-pence) has the smallest diameter and weight among the pre-decimal Australian coins.

Threepence coin specs:

• Nicknames: Trey, Trey Bit, Threepenny Bit, Joey

• Years: 1910-1964 (except 1913, 1929-1933, 1937 & 1945-1946)

• Face Value: 3d

• Weight: 1.41 g

• Diameter: 16 mm

• Composition: Sterling silver (1910-1944); 50% silver (1947-1964)

• Edge: Plain

Five mints created Australian threepence coins: London, Birmingham, Melbourne, Sydney, and two American mints: Denver and San Francisco.

Pictured above: Obverse and reverse of 1937 Australian sixpence coin | Image credit: Lamashtu2006, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Sixpence

The sixpence pre-decimal Australian coin, worth half a shilling, was the most consistent in design. It only had one reverse design in its entire run.

The sixpence coin specs:

• Nicknames: Zac / Zack, Tanner, Half Shilling, Sixpenny Bit

• Years: 1910-1963 (except 1913, 1915, 1929-1933, 1937, 1947 & 1949)

• Face Value: 6d

• Weight: 2.83 g

• Diameter: 19 mm

• Composition: Sterling silver (1910-1945); 50% silver (1946-1963)

• Edge: Reeded

The mints that made sixpence coins included London, Melbourne, Sydney, San Francisco, and Denver.

Pictured above: Reverse and obverse of 1911 Australian shilling coin

Shilling

Australian shillings were one of the staples of pre-decimal Australian coinage.

The second shilling reverse, introduced in 1938, featured a Merino ram.

The Merino ram was based on the grand champion of the 1932 Sydney Sheep Show, named Uardry 0.1. The ram’s head and horns were considered so perfect, Kruger Gray used him for the new coin design, resulting in the nickname “The Shilling Ram.”

Why a Merino ram? Australian Merino sheep, first bred in 1797, produce the world’s highest quality Merino wool. Paralleling the nation, “the Merino sheep, as they were developed, dragged us out of a penal colony into a pretty prosperous nation, in a pretty quick time,” according to author Edward Stephen Burns.

The Australian shilling specs:

• Nicknames: Deena / Deenah, Bob (debated), Oner

• Years: 1910-1963 (except 1923, 1929-1930, 1932, 1937, 1947, 1949, & 1951)

• Face Value: 1/–

• Weight: 5.65 g

• Diameter: 23.5 mm

• Composition: Sterling silver (1910-1945); 50% silver (1946-1963)

• Edge: Reeded

Australian shillings were minted in London, Birmingham, San Francisco, Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne.

Pictured above: Reverse and obverse of 1944 Australian florin

Florin

The florin was a two-shilling pre-decimal Australian denomination used for both circulation and almost every pre-decimal commemorative coin — including the first Commonwealth commemorative coin in 1927 honoring Australia’s first Parliament House opening.

Australian florin specs:

• Nicknames: Two-Bob, Two-Bob Bit,

• Years: 1910-1963 (except 1920, 1929-1930, 1937, 1948-1950 & 1955)

• Face Value: 2/–

• Weight: 11.31 g

• Diameter: 28.5 mm

• Composition: Sterling silver (1910-1945); 50% silver (1946-1963)

• Edge: Reeded

Five mints created Australian florins: London, Birmingham, San Francisco, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Pictured above: Reverse and obverse of 1937 Australian crown coin

Crown

The most short-lived Australian coin was the Crown. The 5-shillings denomination commemorated George VI becoming King of England after Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936. Only one obverse and reverse design was used.

Australian crown coin specs:

• Nicknames: Dollar, Casey’s Cartwheel

• Years: 1937-1938

• Face Value: 5/–

• Weight: 28.27 g

• Diameter: 38.5 mm

• Composition: Sterling silver

• Edge: Reeded

The only mint that made Australian crowns was in Melbourne. Over 1.1 million were minted, but only 10 percent of those were minted in 1938, making 1938 Australian crowns rare and sought-after by collectors.

Pictured above: Obverse of 1953 Australian sixpence featuring Elizabeth II | Image credit: Australian Coin Information, Public domain

Coin Design and Iconography

The designs of bronze and silver pre-decimal Australian coins reflected both the nation’s unique qualities and British influence.

Obverse Designs

All the coins’ obverses featured the same designs of the current British monarch. Coins introduced in 1910 had four designs overall, while the half penny and penny (introduced in 1911) had three. The four designs were:

1. Edward VII (1910): Effigy of King Edward VII facing right designed by British medallist George William de Saules; Inscription “EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:” and artist’s initials “DES” below bust

2. George V (1911-1936): Effigy of King George V facing left designed by Australian medallist Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal; Inscription “GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT: OMN: REX F.D.IND:IMP:” and artist’s initials “B.M.” below bust; Used through King Edward VII’s one-year rule in 1936 before abdicating

3. George VI (1937-1952): Effigy of King George VI facing left designed by English coin designer Thomas Hugh Paget; Inscription “GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX: F:D:IND:IMP” from 1937 to 1948 or “GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX FIDEI DEF.” from 1949 to 1952; Artist’s initials “HP” under bust

4. Elizabeth II (1953-1964): Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right designed by English sculptor Mary Gillick; Inscription “+ ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA” from 1953-1954 or “+ ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA.F:D:” from 1955-1963; Artist’s initials “MG” under bust

Those inscriptions might seem confusing, so we’ll break them down. The first part is the monarch’s name in Latin, like “GEORGIVS VI” for George VI.

The other Latin phrases and abbreviations are:

• DEI GRA or DEI GRATIA or D:G: — Meaning “By the grace of God,” usually followed by…

• REGINA or REG or REX — Meaning “Queen” or “King” though this sometimes comes after…

• BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM or BRITT:OMN or BR:OMN — Meaning “of all the Britons”

• FIDEI DEFENSOR or FIDEI DEF or F:D: — Meaning “Defender of the Faith”

• ET INDIAE IMPERATOR or ET IND:IMP — Meaning “and Emperor of India” (removed after India gained independence)

The pre-decimal reverse designs varied more, but many were similar at first.

Pictured above: First reverse design featured on Australian florin minted in 1917 | Image credit: Heritage Auctions, Numista, CC-BY-SA-4.0

First Reverse Designs

The first half penny and penny reverse designs (1911-1938) were by London Royal Mint medallist William Henry James Blakemore.

Both had their denomination (as “ONE HALF PENNY” or “ONE PENNY”) above a small scroll, encircled by a beaded circle. Outside the circle was “COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA” and the mintage year. The penny just had another small scroll above the denomination.

The threepence, sixpence, shilling, and florin initially all shared a similar reverse (1910-1936) by Blakemore. It featured the first Australian Coat of Arms approved in 1908 with the mintage year underneath and the denomination along the top — as “THREEPENCE” or “SIXPENCE” or “ONE SHILLING” or “ONE FLORIN – TWO SHILLINGS” respectively.

Lastly, English artist George Kruger Gray designed the short-lived crown reverse. It had an imperial crown above the mintage year with his initials “KG” at the lower right. Encircling it were the inscriptions “COMMONWEALTH:OF:AUSTRALIA” at top and “ONE CROWN” at bottom.

Pictured above: Second reverse design of Australian shilling minted in 1960 | Image credit: Jamnik2017, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Second Reverse Designs

All coins except the sixpence and crown had a second reverse design designed by George Kruger Gray and introduced in the late 1930s.

The second half penny and penny designs (1938-1964) were by George Kruger Gray. Both featured a kangaroo (facing right on the half penny & left on the penny), the Commonwealth star, the initials “KG,” the mintage year, and the denomination (as “HALF PENNY” or “PENNY”) at the bottom.

The second threepence reverse (1937-1964) featured three wheat stalks tied with a ribbon. The initials “KG” plus the mintage year and “THREEPENCE” inscription were split by the wheat. “AUSTRALIA” was along the top.

The second shilling reverse (1938-1963) featured a Merino ram head with “KG” on the right and a Commonwealth star on either side. “AUSTRALIA” was along the top while the denomination and mintage year were at the bottom (e.g. “SHILLING • 1950“).

Finally, the second florin reverse (1938-1963) featured the new Australian Coat of Arms, authorized in 1912, below an imperial crown and two Commonwealth stars. The crown’s cross separated the inscription “FLORIN” while the mintage year and “AUSTRALIA” were along the bottom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to common questions before we wrap up:

Are Australian pre-decimal coins still legal tender?

Yes! All pre-decimal Australian coins we’ve discussed are still legal tender except holey dollar and dump coins.

What is the value of a pre-decimal Australian coin?

It depends on its condition (determined by a coin grader) and rarity. Some rare pre-decimal Australian coins include:

• 1923 Half Penny

• 1915-H Half Penny

• 1916-I Half Penny Mule Error Coin

• 1922 “2 Over 1” Overdate Error Threepence

• 1915-H Shilling

• 1914-H or 1915-H Florin

• 1932 Florin

• 1918 Sixpence

Where can I buy or sell pre-decimal Australian coins?

Right here at Coins Auctioned! You can find competitive prices for all kinds of Australian coins to buy or become a verified seller to start listing your own coins for sale.

Treasure the Evolution of Australian Currency with Pre-Decimal Coins!

As you can see, the history of Australian currency is a fascinating journey. The various pre-decimal coins reflect that, paralleling the nation’s evolution.

Whether you’re just getting started, building out an Australian pre-decimal coin set, or looking for that holy grail coin, you’ve come to the right place.

Buy pre-decimal Australian coins today!