Two dollar coins (and 10c coins) are the least favourite coins to look through when noodling. However, it can still be fun (and rewarding) to do so, and this is only becoming more so as the Royal Australian Mint releases different coloured $2 coins into circulation. So, you’re sitting in front of a pile of 500 coins and you’re wondering what are the rare Australian 2 dollar coins you should be looking out for? In this article we hope to answer that question for you.
2013 Circulating $2 Coronation Purple Stripe
2013 Purple Stripe Coronation 2 Dollar Coin
The distinctive 2013 purple Coronation 2 Dollar coin was the first Australian coloured coin released specifically for circulation. The Royal Australian Mint didn’t make a fuss about their release so they were not immediately hoarded. Couple this with the relatively low mintage of 2,000,000 coins and you have an almost perfect storm of circumstances. One that means that the first of our rare Australian 2 dollar coins is worth $25-$30 even if well circulated.
2012 Remembrance Day Red Poppy $2 Coin
2012 Remembrance Day Red Poppy $2 Coin
The first two dollar commemorative design, the 2012 Red Poppy $2 has become hugely popular in the last few years. They were released in two versions, a non mintmark version, and a ‘C’ mintmark coin. The low mintage of just 500,000 makes the non mintmark coin worth around $100 while the ‘C’ mintmrk coin can be worth $300 or more. You can read a lot more about the value of the 2012 Red Poppy $2 coin here.
Double Struck $2 Coin
2008 or 2009 Double Struck 2 Dollar Coins
We first wrote about double struck 2008 and 2009 dollar coins several years ago. While we’re not really sure if these were found in someone’s pocket there’s no doubt they were released into circulation by the Royal Australian Mint. The price of these amazing errors has grown from a few hundred dollars to almost $3000 in the 10 years since they were first discovered. This makes the third of our rare Australian 2 dollar coins not only spectacular to look at, but potentially very valuable.
Australian $2 (no date) Struck on Euro 10c Planchet PCGS MS63
$2 Coins Struck on Euro Planchets
In 2013 we wrote about 2 dollar coins that were struck on underweight planchets. These were initially identified as ‘weak strikes’ and then ‘underweight planchets’ and finally we proved conclusively they were actually struck on 10c Euro Planchets. We’re not 100% certain that the discovery pieces of this error were found in change, but again they were definitely put into circulation. Happen across one of these bad boys while you’re noodling and you’re probably looking at a $2000 coin. At that value we’re happy to say that not only is the $2 coin struck on a Euro planchet one of the most rare Australian 2 dollar coins, it’s almost certainly the most valuable one you might find while noodling.
Not Valuable -1988 or 1989 2 Dollar Coins with HH Stamped on them
We’ve put the 2 dollar coin with HH on the reverse here not because they are rare Australian 2 dollar coins but because they are not. But this doesn’t stop several dozen people a year asking us whether their two dollar coin (from 1988 or 1989) with HH on it is valuable. We promise you it’s only worth $2.
Important Note: values in this article are estimates made at time of writing (July 2020) and the real value can’t really be known until you sell. Of course recent auction and eBay results are always an excellent source of value data!
