Old Coins

Minting

Australian Coins

The Turkish coins were made of yellow metal called electrum. They were stamped with a seal to guarantee their weight. The idea of using coins to buy things spread to Greece and other parts of Europe. Some coins had images of gods and goddesses on them. Roman coins had portraits of emperors. Around this time, coins were also being used in Africa and Asia. Coins dating from the 11th century BCE have been found in China. They have holes in the centre so they could be threaded onto a piece of string and carried around.

Why Coins?

First Coins

Pieces of gold and silver were used to buy goods in ancient times. However, each piece had to be weighed to work out its value. Eventually, pieces of gold and silver were made into shapes of regular weight. They were stamped to show their value. To begin with, coins were made by hand. Around 1500 CE, machines were invented to produce coins of regular size and shape. Coins were issued in large numbers by many countries and states.

Thousands of years ago, before money was invented, people exchanged a bartered things rather than buying or selling them. About 4,000 years ago, people started using gold and silver to represent the value of other things. In Mesopotamia, people used small pieces of silver, called shekels, to pay for goods. People in Turkey began making coins around 600 BCE.

The strong resin model is put on a reducing machine, which takes all its measurements and shrinks them to fit a small steel blank the same size as the finished coin. The reduced image is then cut into the steel blank, which is used to press the image into another blank called a die. The die is used to make yet another positive image on a tool called a hob. The hob is used to make all the dies that will be used to make the coins.

The First Stage

The hob is used to make lots of negative dies, which are hardened so they can be used to make hundreds of thousands of coins without wearing out. Blank coins are polished and given an edge before being stamped by the dies. Both sides of the coin are struck at the same time. The machine can strike 650 images onto blanks each minute.

Today, Australian coins are made at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra.

The first stage in making a coin is getting the design of the obverse (heads) and reverse (tails) right. A designer will draw a design and show his or her drawings to the Reserve Bank of Australia. When the design is approved it is sculpted in plaster of Paris. The plaster of Paris model is larger than the size of the finished coin so that small details can become part of the design. Silicone rubber is poured over the sculpted model. When the rubber is pulled away, it contains a negative imprint of the model. A substance called epoxy resin is then poured into the mould. When the resin becomes solid, it makes a strong copy of the original plaster of Paris model and can be used in the next stage of coin production.

Reducing the size of the model

Minting

Tails

In 1966, the first batch of 5-cent coins was made at the Royal Mint in London. Since then, most 5-cent coins have been made at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Each coin is stamped with the year in which it was made.

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse (heads side) of all Australian coins. Since 1966, there have been three different portraits of the Queen. A fourth portrait appeared in a limited edition in 2000 to commemorate a royal visit to Australia.

On the reverse side of the 5-cent coin is a short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). This coin was designed and sculpted by Stuart Devlin, a Geelong born designer who has designed coins for countries around the world. Its design has remained the same since it was first produced in 1966.

Short-beaked echidnas live all over Australia. They eat ants and termites. Echidnas are monotremes - mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. They are covered in fur and spines.

Where is it made?

Obverse (heads)

The Maths

Lyrebirds are found only in Australia. They live in rainforests and wet eucalypt forests in eastern parts of Australia from southern Queensland to Victoria. They have an amazing ability to mimic the calls of other birds. They have even been recorded mimicking the sounds of farm machinery, chainsaws and the whirr of a camera’s shutter.

The first issue of 10-cent coins was made at the Royal Mint in London. Since then, the many millions of 10-cent coins made each year have been made at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Each coin is stamped with the year in which it was made.

The coin is made of 75% copper and 25% nickel. It is circular in shape and has a milled edge. It weights 5.65 grams and is 23.6 millimetres in diameter.

On the reverse side of the 10-cent coin is a superb lyrebird (Menura Novaehollandiae). This coin was designed and sculpted by Stuart Devlin, and has remained unchanged since it was introduced in 1966.

Commerative Designs

The 20-cent coin has been minted for special occasions including the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, Centenary of Federation, the 60th anniversary of the end to World War Two and to celebrate the centenary of Canberra.

Like the echidna, the platypus is a monotreme, a mammal that lays eggs. Platypuses live on the edge of rivers and freshwater lakes in the eastern parts of Australia from north Queensland to the South Australian border. They are found all over Tasmania. They eat insect larvae that live in water, as well as shrimps and worms.

In 1966, the first issue of the 20-cent coin was made at the Royal Mint in London. Except for 1981, when 20-cent coins were made at the Royal Mint in Wales and the Royal Canadian Mint, all 20-cent coins since 1966 have been made at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Each coin is stamped with the year in which it was made.

On the reverse side of the 20-cent coin is a platypus swimming under water. This coin was designed and sculpted by Stuart Devlin. Since 1995, 200-cent coins with different designs on the reverse have been issued. These special coins have also been made to commemorate Australian people and events.

All 50-cent coins have been made at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. The only exception was a special issue to commemorate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, which was made at the Royal Mint in Wales.

In 1970, a special 50-cent coin was designed to commemorate the bicentenary of James Cook’s 1770 voyage to Australia on the Endeavour. Included on the coin was a copy of Cook’s signature. This was the first time a signature had appeared on a coin.

The coat of arms has been replaced many times by other designs, commemorating a range of people and events.

On the reverse of the 50-cent coin is Australia’s coat of arms. This coin was designed and sculpted by Stuart Devlin. When the 50-cent coin was first made in 1966, it was round like the other coins. Although it was larger than the 20-cent coin, people often mistook one for the other. In 1969, the 50-cent coin became a dodecagon, when means it as 10 sides.

Bicentenary

All $1 coins are made at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Each coin is stamped with the year in which it was made.

Although the image of the kangaroos remains the most common one seen on the coin, there have been many different designs commemorating people and events. This coin was minted in 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II (1939 - 1945). 

Also in circulation is the ‘Donation Dollar’. The Royal Australian Mint plans to mint one ‘Donation Dollar’ for every Australian. It is a reminder for us to give of ourselves, not only in times of crisis, but all year round. If we all donated one Donation Dollar a month, we would raise 300 million dollars a year!

On the reverse of the $1 coin are five kangaroos. This coin was designed and sculpted by Stuart Devlin. It was first minded in 1984, to replace the $1 banknote originally released in 1966. Kangaroos were chosen to decorate the reverse of the coin because they are closely associated with Australia. In the year of its first release, 186.3 million $1 coins were mad.e Many millions more are made each year.

Commemorative Designs

Colour Coins

All $2 coins are made at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Each coin is stamped with the year in which it was made.

In 2012 Australia was introduced to its first coloured circulating coin. The $2 coin commemorated Remembrance Day, and had an image of a red poppoy on the reverse side. Only half a million of these were produced, so they are quite rare.

The $1 and $2 banknotes were replaced by $1 and $2 coins because the notes were damaged easily and had to be replaced often. Coins last much longer than banknotes and are less expensive to make.

On the reverse of the $2 coin are the head ond shoulders of an Aboriginal elder, as well as the Southern Cross and native grass plants. THis coin was designed by Horst Hahne, a German-born designer and engraver who moved to Australia in 1959. His initials, HH, can be seeen hear the right arm of the Aboriginal elder, but only on coins minted in 1988 and 1989. From 1990 onwards the initials disappeared. THe $2 coin was first minted in 1988 to replace the $2 banknote. It is smaller than the $1 coin, which makes it easy for people with limited eyesight to recognise.

The holey dollar was created to address a shortage of coins in the new colony. Governor Lachlan Macquarie imported 40,000 Spanish reales in 1812 and had convicted forger William Henshall cut the centre out of each, to double the number of available coins.

Coins in Australia

Until Federation, in 1901, Australia continued to use British currency. The first Australian coins for mass circulation were minted in 1910. Until 1915, all Australia’s bronze and silver coins were made in London. In 1916, coins began being made in Australia.

On 14 February 1966, decimal currency (dollars and cents) replaced pounds, shillings and pence as Australia’s official currency. One-cent and two-cent coins were taken out of circulation in 1992.

In 1788, when Europeans first settled in Australia, they brought few coins with them. As the settlement grew and more ships arrived, coins from countries such as Holland and Spain began to be used as currency. In 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie brought a large supply of Spanish dollars to the colony. n order to keep them in the colony, Macquarie had the centre of each coin cut out. The holey dollar was given a value, and the dump (the cut-out centre) was given a lesser value. These coins were used until 1829, when British currency became the colony’s official currency.

Holey Dollar

Australia’s Coins