The dollar coin was introduced in 1984 replacing the one dollar note that had circulated since the introduction of decimal currency in 1966. The first coin bore the Arnold Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth and the reverse depicting 5 kangaroos was sculpted by Stuart Devlin. The design quickly became known as the “mob of roos” […]
Some 2008 Mob of Roos dollar coins present cuds caused by a chipped die. These appear on the bottom of the tail of the largest kangaroo to the left of the numeral and a cud on the number 1 at the top left of the numeral. Examples have been found with each cud indicating it’s […]
In 1954 the newly crowned Queen of England, Elizabeth II toured Australia in February. To commemorate this royal tour the Royal Mint branch in Melbourne minted a 50% silver florin using master dies and punches supplied by the Royal Mint in London. The obverse of the coin bore the bare headed portrait of Elizabeth as […]
1951 was the golden anniversary (50th) of the federation of Australia. A florin (known as the Federation florin) was released to commemorate the event. The obverse bears the usual Paget portrait of George VI while the reverse bears a design by William Leslie Bowles, a Victorian sculptor. His design was one of several considered by […]
Minted and released in the same year the 1937 Australian Crown was minted both as a commemorative of the Coronation of King George VI and also to trial the large coin in circulation. It was minted to demand and proved to be popular with an eventual mintage of 1,008,000. It turned out that the popularity […]
The crown was minted for just the second year in 1938 and due to the un-popularity of the coin just 101,600 of the coins were released into circulation. It is typified by a weak strike compared with the 1937 issue. This weak strike is obvious in the lack of definition in the hair above the […]
When Australia adopted it’s own coinage in 1910/1911 the decision was made not to include some of the denominations used in Great Britain. One of these was the crown or five shillings. However in 1937 to mark the coronation of King George VI it was decided to mint a crown sized silver coin for circulation […]
1938 to 1963 Shilling Designer: George Kruger Gray Weight: 5.65 grams Diameter: 23.5 mm Mint: Melbourne 1938 – 1963, Perth 1946 only, San Francisco 1942 – 1944. There was also a pattern minted in London in 1937. Minted 1938 to 1952 with King George VI obverse, then from 1953 to 1963 with Queen Elizabeth II […]
The tiny Australian 5 cent piece is quite susceptible to breaks in the die causing cuds particularly on the echidnas claws. These examples on the 2009 dated 5c. Images show the progression of the deterioration of the die, with new cuds appearing as the deterioration continues.
5 Cent Errors and varieties master index.