2003 saw the release of another mitilary themed coin from the Royal Australian Mint. The 2003 Vietnam Veterans $1 coin was released to commemorate Australia's 10 year involvement in the struggle to maintain the independence of the republic of South Vietnam. Australians became involved in the war in 1962 with a small group of advisors. Over the next 10 years more than 50,000 Australians served in the theatre peaking at more than 8,000 in country in 1967. The three services were involved in the conflict, with the Army involved from 1962, the RAAF from 1964 (with 3 squadrons operating) and the Navy worked with the USN patrolling and providing clearance divers. Australia withdrew it's forces in 1972 with South Vietnam being over-run by the forces of North Vietnam in 1975 and the cold war era conflict finally came to an end. Sadly, Australia suffered 519 fatalities in the Vietnam war and nearly 2,400 were wounded in the conflict.

This NCLT aluminium bronze dollar is the standard size and mass, with 57,000 being issued in a special collector folder. The obverse shows the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reversed was sculpted by Vladimir Gottwald and depicts the Australia Vietnam Forces Memorial which can be seen on ANZAC Parade in front of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia.

On the 14th August 1945 Japan accepted the allied demands for surrender marking the end of World War II. The following day it was announced in Australia sparking feelings of joy and relief from all Australians. VP Day (Victory in the Pacific day) was reported in all the papers and the Australian government gazetted it a public holiday. USA and New Zealand preferred the term VJ Day (Victory over Japan Day) and named it as such.

On VP day August 15th 1945 the celebrations were rife. In the streets of Sydney a man was caught on motion picture film dancing in celebration. This film and the "dancing man" has taken on iconic status in symbolising the victory of WW II.

2005 marked the 60th anniversary of VP day and the RAM released a circulation one dollar coin depicting "Peace" and the image of the iconic dancing man. In a media release the RAM said the gentleman depicted was one Ern Hill, a retired electrician but there is much conjecture over this. There is more evidence that it is in fact Frank McAlary QC. Both these men and others claim to be the famous dancing man caught on camera dancing down Elizabeth Street on that day.

This circulation issue aluminium bronze dollar is the standard 25mm size. The dancing man design on the reverse was sculpted by Wojciech Pietranik and the coin was not issued with any mintmarks. The obverse is the standard Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. 31,788,000 of these coins were released into circulation in 2005. Both gold and silver versions were also issued as part of the pure silver/gold proof coin sets of which 629 gold sets were issued (of a potential 650 allocation) and 6,200 silver sets.

In my previous entry about Australian proclamation coins I mentioned the Spanish Silver Dollar (or 8 reales) which was valued at 5s the proclamation. The 8 reales (or royals) coin of Spain and her colonies was probably the best known coin in the world at the time of Australian proclamation of 1800. Spanish milled dollars (also famously known as pieces of 8) were struck from 1732 until 1826. They are referred to as milled dollars because the planchets were made on a milling machine giving a uniform size and mass. Before 1732 8R coins were created by hammering the design onto irregularly shaped cobs cut from silver bars. From 1732 until 1773 Spanish Silver dollars were minted with the Spanish coat of arms on one side and the familiar Pillars of Hercules on the other, silver dollars from this period were known as 'pillar dollars'. From 1773 onward the coat of arms gave way to a portrait of the Spanish monarch, coins from this time were known as 'portrait dollars'. Spanish dollars were minted in several different mints, in several different countries, and with many different assayers initials on the pillar side of the coin. The number of varieties available is well beyond the scope of this article and has been the subject of many books.

Minted from about 27 grams of 0.913 fine silver the Spanish silver dollar formed the basis of silver dollars from many different countries for almost the next 200 years. It was the model for the US silver dollar (the 8R was legal tender in the USA until the 1860's) with the silver content and size similar to US silver dollars minted until the 1930's. Other countries minted silver coins of a similar size and silver content as the Spanish 8R, these included Great Britain, China, Japan, Mexico, many different South American countries, and even France.

When purchasing a Spanish silver dollar I think that originality of surfaces and genuine toning is paramount. Wear, while an important factor, is not critical. A nicely toned VF 8R is a lovely thing to behold and a lot more attractive than a dipped AU or UNC coin. That being said if you can find a toned uncirculated 8R at a reasonable cost I'd be jumping at the chance!. One thing to be aware of with silver dollars of Spain and her colonies is that some date / assayers / mint combinations are rare and can bring high prices from specialised 8R collectors. There is no need for an Australian Proclamation coin collector to hunt down these rare combinations, a representative commonly available sample of a Pillar and Portrait dollar should be all that is required for their collection.

An upset coin is produced during minting when the dies for the reverse and obverse of the coin are not aligned correctly.

For Australian coins if you hold the reverse of the coin upright with a thumb and forefinger on the top and bottom edge you should be able to rotate the coin around to view the obverse which will be upright also. Australian coins are minted with what is known as 'medal alignment'. Coins from other countries (such as the USA for example) mint their coins with what is known as 'coin alignment'. When
if you hold the reverse of a 'coin alignment coin' upright with a thumb and forefinger on the top and bottom edge you can rotate the coin around to view the obverse which will be upside down (in contrast to Australian coins).

A regular coin should have the Queen (or King) look at you straight on. During minting one of the dies might not be aligned correctly or might rotate during the production run. When turning the coin around, if a coin is an upset it will show the obverse (Queen's side) facing anything but upright. She may be leaning over to the right 90 degrees (a 90 deg upset) or upside down (180 degree upset). You may find these upset errors in any number of degrees of the clockface.

If one side of the coin is only rotated a small amount, up to say 15 deg (or 1 o'clock) it won't be considered an upset. This angle may be considered normal as there is a small allowance for slight angle movement in the struck coin. Pre-decimal coins may often have a slight degree of upset which is considered normal which is not so common in decimal coins.

During one production run of 2001 Centenary of Federation Dollars at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra this error occured. Collectors have found varying degrees of upset coins ranging the entire clockface from 1 degree to 359 degrees. In this case during only one production run the obverse die rotated throughout the run causing the varying degrees of upset.

An upset coin will demand a premium over it's regular counterpart. The degree of upset will also determine how collectable it is. A Federation $1 upset pulled from circulation with a 90 degree angle may fetch $20 or more depending on it's condition so it's worth looking out for this error in your change. It is also a coin that is not impossible to find! These Federation upsets are the most common upset coins to find. Any other upset of another denomination or a pre-decimal upset with a high rotation will certainly command a higher premium as they are much less common..

Hi, just wondered if you could clarify some things re Governor King's Proclamation of 1800.

Firstly I'd suggest looking for a copy of "Foundations of the Australian Monetary System 1788-1851" (Sydney University Press) by S.J. Butlin as this seems to be one of the best sources for information on colonial currency. Sorry I am no expert on the field and will do my best to answer the questions you've asked, but please take them with caution, they are based only on my knowledge and research.

1. Did this relate solely to NSW

Given that Tasmania was not settled by Europeans until 1803, the General Order (the proclamation of Governor King) of 1800 didn't explicitly cover Tasmania. Tasmania was under the control of the colony of NSW until 1825 so you could argue that the order did cover Tasmania. This is backed up by a proclamation made by Bligh in 1807 that prohibited the use of 'currency' (promissory notes). Part of this proclamation said 'the value of coins established is still in full force' which of course covered the valuation imposed by Governor King. Bligh extended this proclamation to Tasmania in 1809 so King's proclamation was indeed in effect there.

2. when was this Proclamation repealed - was it 15th August 1829 and again was it only for NSW.

I don't know when (or even if it was) specifically repealed. However 15 August 1829 was the day that it was ordered in the Colony of NSW that no foreign coin should be accepted for official payments. 10 days or so earlier it was announced in the Sydney Gazette that fines to the Government could only be paid in sterling currency. The reason for the announcement was that 55,000 pounds of currency arrived in the colony and another 20,000 was due the next month so the need for foreign curreny was over. It was also announced at the same time that the call up of holey dollars would cease at the end of September.

Apparently this was only for NSW (I am not sure what happened in Tasmania). The reason being is that the Tasmanian colony separated from NSW at almost the same time that the Spanish dollar standard was being abandoned in NSW and the two colonies adopted the sterling standard by different means.

3. should we therefore have sub sets of proclamation coins by each colony eg I believe Tasmania had its own proclamation

Well that's the beauty of coin collecting, if you can find a separate proclamation for Tasmania (and I am not aware of one) then by all means you can have subsets of proclamation coins. Personally I don't stick to the strict letter of Kings proclamation. The 1799 half penny and farthing circulated much more heavily than the silver and gold coins of King's proclamation so I personally think they need to be in any proclamation collection. The fines for removing coins and inflated values failed to keep silver and gold in the colony, copper stayed though, it just wasn't worth while taking it out and exporting it to England!

4. should coins with a date before 1829 such as a spanish dollar be considered as possibly a "Proclamation coin" even though none of these coins have any provenance as ever having been used within Australia

Spanish dollars were in the proclamation though. If you're talking about other coins (like the Brazilian 960 Reis, or overstruck 2 rupees or similar) then probably not. It would be fair to say that any sort of widely used trade coinage of the time would have been seen here though, such as 8R fractions, ?? rupees, or 3 guilders or ducatoons. These traded through Asia and it's reasonable to assume they got here too. So if they interest you then I dont see why they couldn't form part of an Australian colonial coin collection.

5. Is there or should there be a definitive list of Proclamation coins which specifies the coin, obverse and reverse designs, mint marks, assayers mark and date range.

Not that I am aware of. Just King's original document. Any 'definitive' list made up by academics is open to challenge and opinion. If you know of a list and you are happy with the evidence and support behind it then by all means use that. Personally I don't collect coins that way, I collect them because they interest me and for the history behind them rather than the academic interest they hold. Andrew Crellin, owner of Sterling and Currency Coins and author of a well known (and very pretty) book on Australian proclamation coins has an interesting article on What is a Proclamation Coin. It's well worth the read and urges collectors to think outside of the 10 coins covered by Governor King.

Any help in these areas would be greatly appreciated by myself and I think by many others as many claims are made about a coin being a proclamation coin without any substantive or definitive evidence.

You're more than welcome, it's been interesting doing some reading to find some answers to your questions!

1854 saw the biggest act of rebellion in the short history of Australia at Ballarat in the Colony of Victoria. Some 10-15,000 miners protesting against extremely high mining license fees, corrupt government agents, and the total lack of rights for miners (such as the rights to own land and the right to vote) formed the Ballarat Reform League. Over the period of a few weeks they organised a rag tag military force, designed and flew their own Eureka flag (the famous blue and white southern cross flag used to this day as a sign of protest), and elected a leader, Peter Lalor. In December 1854 a combined force of police and soldiers marched to Ballarat intent on putting the rebellion down. The miners fortified themselves within a shabby barricade of wagons and timber (the "Eureka Stockade"), that was intended as much to keep the miners in one place as for defense. It is not known who fired first but it is known that the miners were routed by the professional colonial force in 10 minutes with about 20 deaths on the side of the miners and 6 on the side of the soldiers. The Eureka rebellion was over but a campaign of civil disobedience continued in the Colony of Victoria for the next several years and the eventual granting of voting rights to all males in the colony resulted with much public support. Peter Lalor, the rebellions' leader was even elected to the Victorian Parliament and served for a time as it's speaker! To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Eureka Stockade the Royal Australian Mint released an NCLT aluminium bronze dollar with C, E, S, B, and M mintmarks. The mintages were as follows:

• 70,913 C mintmark
• 95,948 E mintmark (including 6,672 minted on a mobile press in Ballarat, and another 50 or so minted on the same press in VIP presentation folders)
• 45,098 S mintmark (including 9,615 minted on a mobile press at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney)
• 33,835 B mintmark (including 1,693 minted on a mobile press at the Brisbane ANDA show in 2004)
• 37,526 M mintmark (including 9,184 minted on a mobile press at the Melbourne ANDA show in 2004)

17,697 were also minted in 0.999 silver to proof standards and available in individual cases. Three examples of the Eureka Stockade dollar are also known to exist with no mintmarks, these are rare indeed and command a price of more than $2,000 when they very rarely enter the market. Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse is sculpted by Wojciech Pietranik. It shows the colonial military forces arrayed in front of the famed Eureka Stockade. Flying over the stockade is the symbolic Eureka flag with the stars of the Southern Cross prominent.

The 27th of July 2003 was the 50th anniversary of the negotiated truce that saw the end of the war on the Korean peninsula that had begun in June 1950 when a North Korean army poured into South Korea. Within just a few short days of the invasion the United Nations called for member countries to send forces to Korea to halt the advance. Australia answered the call by sending a squadron of attack aircraft from the RAAF and the 1st Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) which was stationed in Japan as part of the post WW2 occupation forces. By the time that Australian troops arrived in September 1950 the North Korean advance had been halted and a UN offensive had thrown the North Korean Army into full retreat. The communist Chinese Government warned UN forces not to advance past the North Korean border, despite this the UN drove the North Koreans back almost to the North Korean border with China. The Chinese launched an offensive with 18 divisions and drove the UN back southward past the South Korean Capital of Seoul which fell for the second time during the war. In February 1951 the Chinese advance was halted and turned, with the Chinese falling back to the 38th parallel longitude where resistance stiffened and fixed lines of resistance formed. From this time until the end of the war the conflict was essentially fought in place with artilllery and localised attacks. Finally in July 1953 a truce was negotiated but not after more than 300 Australians had died during the conflict. A state of hostilities exists to this day between the countries of North and South Korea, the 38th parallel being one of the most heavily militarised regions in the entire world. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean war the Royal Australian Mint released an NCLT aluminium bronze dollar with C, S, B, and M mintmarks.

• 93,752 C mintmark coins minted -includes RAM Gallery press coins
• 36,091 S mintmark coins minted -includes portable press coins
• 34,949 B mintmark coins minted -includes portable press coins
• 36,142 M mintmark coins minted -includes portable press coins

It was also minted in 0.999 silver to proof standards. The raised C mintmark was struck in an incuse circle on the MYO press at the RAM and also available via dealer allocations struck on the normal presses. The S, B, and M mintmarks were similar and struck on portable presses at the respective ANDA shows and on the normal production presses. The exact split between portable press and normal press production is unknown. The AlBr coins were available in collector folders while the silver coins were available in individual presentation cases. Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse is sculpted by Vladimir Gottwald. It shows the dove of peace with the national floral symbols of Australia and South Korea on each side against a background of vertical lines. These lines echo vertical stainless steel poles found outside the Australian War Memorial that represent the Australians who died in the Korean conflict.

2003 saw the Royal Australian Mint consult with the peak volunteering body, Volunteers Australia to design a set of coins celebrating the contribution of more than 4 million volunteers. A 20 cent, 50 cent and $1 coin were designed and minted with the catchy byline, "Australia's Volunteers : Making a Difference" to highlight the work carried out by these important people. All 3 commemorative coins incorporated designs to honour Australia's volunteers. The dollar coin was released into general circulation and was available in uncirculated mint and baby mint sets, in gem uncirculated condition in the Wedding Sets, and in proof condition in various proof sets. Interestingly the map of Australia on the proof coin was pad printed rather than struck onto the coin.

The 2003 Australia's Volunteer dollar was a general circulation release (4.149 million minted) and was struck in the usual aluminium bronze material and with interrupted edge reeding. Another 120,000 or so were minted in uncirculated condition for mint and baby mint sets and about 55,000 proofs were struck for proof and baby proof sets. Interestingly just 3,249 were struck in gem uncirculated condition for Wedding Specimen sets making it a rare AlBr dollar indeed. Finally, 6,500 were struck in 0.999 silver proof condition for the first release of the Fine Silver Proof Set.

Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse of the coin was sculpted by Wojciech Pietranik. It depicts a stylised map of Australia surrounded by the legend: "Australia's Volunteers: Making a Difference". As mentioned previously the map of Australia on the proof AlBr version of the coin is applied in green and gold ink via a pad printing process rather than struck onto the surface of the coin.

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2003 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

It is usually very difficult to get accurate information out of dealers or suppliers about what their coin accessories are made of. Often it is just assumed that they are coin safe because they are sold by these people specialising in everything numismatic.

Even if you have some idea about the materials it still doesn't equate with the actual product and buyers are just left confused.

We recently conversed directly with one of the biggest numismatic suppliers in the world to get accurate information about the products that they distribute around the world.

Here is what their US representative replied,

"Dear
The lining of the 2x2" coin holders is made of Polyethylene (PE) - not Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). PE is vinyl-free and has no chemical softeners or acids.
Generally, products that come into direct contact with coins are non-vinyl. However, the products for 2 x 2 holders that are listed all have vinyl pages.
Sincerely,
Kathy"

To decipher this information for you cardboard 2x2 holders are safe for coin storage but when you put them in vinyl (pvc) pages then you're in trouble. The pvc starts to deteriorate and produces acids that leach through the PE (similar to Mylar) and damage your coins. Coin pages sold as numismatic accessories from this well known supplier are pvc (vinyl) so therefore are not the appropriate form of storage for your collection. An alternative to 2x2 storage in pages are vertical inserts to place the coins directly into and these inserts are then fed into the vinyl pages...again, not an appropriate solution.

2003 marked the 100 year anniversary of the first opportunity to vote in Federal Australian elections for Australian women. Australian and New Zealand lead the western world in providing voting rights to women, with NZ granting rights in 1893 and Australia in 1903. Rights to vote in Australian State elections began with South Australia in 1894 and right through all the states until Victoria finally came to the party in 1908. To celebrate the Centenary of these momentous events the Government of Australia authorised the minting of a special $1 coin by the Royal Australian Mint. This is known as the 2003 Women's Suffrage dollar.

The 2003 Women's Suffrage dollar was a general circulation release (10 million minted) and was struck in the usual aluminium bronze material and with interrupted edge reeding. Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse of the coin was sculpted by Vladimir Gottwald. It is an interpretation of a banner made by Dora Meeson Coates which hangs in Parliament House in Canberra. The banner was carried by an Australian and New Zealand contingent of women in celebration parades in Great Britain to celebrate womens suffrage there in 1911 and was purchased by the Government of Australia in 1988.

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2003 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

2002 was designated as the Year of the Outback, to celebrate that part of Australia that is so internationally famous (but actually lived in by very few Australians). With more than 7000 activities held Australia wide during the year the RAM decided to cash in on the event by releasing the 2002 Year of the Outback dollar.

The Year of the Outback dollar was the circulation dollar for 2002 (34 million minted), as well as being released with a C mintmark (68,447 minted), a B mintmark (36,931 minted), B mintmark (32,698 minted) and a M mintmark (31,694 minted). 12,500 were also minted in sterling silver to proof standards and were available cased individually. The C mintmark was minted in Canberra on the production presses and the gallery press, and was simply a raised C. The other mintmarks were an incuse circle with a raised letter, some produced on the portable press at the respective ANDA shows while the balance were produced in Canberra and available from dealer allocations. The exact quantities produced on the portable presses is uncertain.

Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse is sculpted by Wojciech Pietranik and shows the logo of the Year of the Outback. The mintmark was located to the right of the map of Australia.

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2002 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

The Outback dollar is the circulation issue for 2002, the no mintmark coin likely to turn up in your change. A pad printed coloured Outback Dollar can be found in the proof sets. Mintages for the portable presses at the shows, the RAM visitor gallery pressed coins, Dealer foldered coins and RAM Sales are all in the one figure released in the RAM annual report. The C mintmark for the Outback Dollar is a raised C (on it's own), the other mintmark's are raised inside an incuse circle. A popular issue again with the military theme is the Vietnam Veterans coin not issued for circulation. For 2003 the mintmark coin was the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War dollar, none of these coins issued for circulation. 2003 was the first year of the RAM producing a Fine Silver Year Set but no Gold Sets issued for these years. There were also no mob of roos dollars minted in these years.

Year	Description	Type	Mint Mark	Composition	Notes	Mintage
2002	Year of the Outback	Circulation	None	AlBr	Circulation	34,074,000
	Year of the Outback	Circulation	C	AlBr	Mint Your Own RAM Visitor Press & Dealer and RAM Sales	68,477
	Year of the Outback	Circulation	S	AlBr	Portable Press Sydney ANDA Show, Dealer and RAM Sales	36,931
	Year of the Outback	Circulation	B	AlBr	Portable Press Brisbane ANDA Show, Dealer and RAM Sales	32,698
	Year of the Outback	Circulation	M	AlBr	Portable Press Melbourne ANDA Show, Dealer and RAM Sales	31,694
	Year of the Outback	Proof	None	.999 Silver	Silver Proof Interrupted Reeding	12,500
	Year of the Outback	Circulation	None	AlBr	Koala Baby Mint Set	32,479
	Year of the Outback	Circulation	None	AlBr	Mint Set	68,752
	Year of the Outback	Coloured Proof	None	Al Br	Proof Set	39,514
	Year of the Outback	Proof	None	AlBr	Koala Baby Proof Set	13,996
	Year of the Outback	Specimen	None	AlBr	Wedding Set	3,322
2003	Australia's Volunteers	Circulation	None	AlBr	Circulation	4,149,000
	Women's Suffrage	Circulation	None	AlBr	Circulation	10,007,000
	Women's Suffrage	Circulation	None	Al Br	Boxed VIP Presentation	225
	Vietnam Veterans	Circulation	None	Al Br	Presentation Folder	57,000
	50th Anniv. Korean War	Circulation	C	Al Br	MYO at RAM, Dealer and RAM sales and Portable Press show issues.	93,572
	50th Anniv. Korean War	Circulation	S	Al Br	Portable Press Sydney ANDA Show, Dealer and RAM sales	36,091
	50th Anniv. Korean War	Circulation	B	Al Br	Portable Press Brisbane ANDA Show, Dealer and RAM sales	34,949
	50th Anniv. Korean War	Circulation	M	Al Br	Portable Press Melbourne Show, Dealer and RAM sales	36,142
	50th Anniv Korean War	Proof	None	.999 Silver	Silver Proof Interrupted Reeding	15,000
	Australia's Volunteers	Circulation	None	Al Br	Koala Baby Mint Set	37,748
	Australia's Volunteers	Circulation	None	Al Br	Mint Set	80,512
	Australia's Volunteers	Proof	None	Al Br	Proof Set	39,090
	Australia's Volunteers	Proof	None	Al Br	Koala Baby Proof Set	14,799
	Australia's Volunteers	Specimen	None	Al Br	Wedding Set	3,249
	Australia's Volunteers	Proof	None	.999 Silver	Fine Silver Year Set	6,500

The military land force of Australia, the Australian Army was officially formed on March 1 1901, two months after the federation of Australia. Any Australian troops fighting before this time were dispatched by one or more of the Colonial governments, and indeed at the time of the formation of the Australian Army there were active colonial contingents fighting in South Africa. When the Army was formed these troops were transferred to the Australian Army but remained under state control until later in 1903 when legislation was finally passed bringing control of all units under a unified command. At the same time civilian (militia) forces were also forbidden from serving outside of Australia. The Australian Army is best known world wide, perhaps, for the heroic failure at Gallipolli in WW1 and the numbers of troops it sent to serve mother England in that same war, which ended up being 13% of the adult male population of the country. The only commonwealth force in WW1 to be a totally volunteer force the Australian Army suffered more than 60% casualties, more than any other national force in the entire war. The Australian Army has served in a number of major and minor conflicts since this time, including WW2, Malaya, Korea, and Vietnam. It has been heavily involved in UN operations including East Timor, the Gulf War, and various African conflicts. It continues active combat operations to this day in Afghanistan.

The Centenary of the Australian Army dollar is an NCLT coin that was minted in Aluminium Bronze and Silver. The AlBr coin was minted with an C mint mark (125,186 minted) that was struck on a visitors press at the RAM and was available through coin dealers. The C mint marked coin had two varieties of the obverse, with the designers intitials IRB joined and separate. The AlBr coin was also minted with an S mint mark (38,095 minted) which had no obverse varieties. The final type of AlBr coin minted had also had a C mintmark and was available only in a PNC (postal numistmatic cover) celebrating the Centenary of the Army. With just 27,209 of these PNC's made and appealing to both coin and stamp collectors not surprisingly these have the highest CV of the different types and are currently retailing for over $100. Finally the Centenary of the Army Dollar coin was struck in sterling silver to proof standard, just 17,839 of these coins were available to collectors in individual cases.

Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse is sculpted by Vladimir Gottwald and shows the the iconic 'Rising Sun' Australian Army badge surrounded by the legend The Australian Army 1901 - 2001. The Rising Sun badge originates back to 1902 when a badge was required for Australian colonial forces operating in South Africa during the Boer War. The badge is very recognisable and synonymous with Australian historical events such as Gallipoli and the Kokoda campaign. The badge depicts the Imperial Crown and a banner with the words The Australian Army. The 'sun rays' or rising sun are in fact not that at all, originally they were to depict a semi circle of thrusting swords and bayonets around the crown which in 1902 was to depict the co-operation between the navy (the swords) and the army (the bayonets).

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2001 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

The navy of Australia is known as the RAN (Royal Australian Navy) and was founded in 1911. To celebrate the event the Royal Australian Mint released a non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) one dollar coin in a collector folder. The RAN was proposed in discussions between Australian authorities and the British Admiralty in 1909, and in 1911 the ships Yarra and Parramatta became the first ships of the Royal Australian Navy. The ships remained under the control of the Royal Navy until 1913 when they along with the flagship HMAS Australia and the cruisers HMAS Melbourne and Sydney passed to the control of the Australian Commonwealth Naval Authority. The RAN fought in WW1, WW2, Malaya, Korea, and Vietnam. Since those times it has conducted operations in support of the UN in areas such as the Persian Gulf, Somalia, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands.

The RAN dollar is an NCLT coin (62,429 minted) and was struck in Aluminium Bronze with no mint mark. It was available in a collector folder by mail order from the RAM or via coin dealers. Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse is sculpted by Vladimir Gottwald and shows the RAN badge surrounded by the legend Royal Australian Navy 1911 - 2001. The RAN badge was adopted in 1949, it depicts the Queens crown on top of a knotted rope surround. In the surround is an anchor and chain, the words Royal Australian Navy, and at the bottom the Australian Federation Star.

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2001 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

2001 was the International Year of the Volunteer, and the Australian Government authorised the Royal Australian Mint to release a coin celebrating the event. The International Year of the Volunteer was proclaimed in November 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly. The United Nations hoped that the International Year of the Volunteer would provide a unique opportunity to highlight the achievements of millions of volunteers worldwide and encourage more people to engage in volunteer activity.

The International Year of the Volunteer dollar was a general circulation release (6 million minted) and was struck in the usual aluminium bronze material and with interrupted edge reeding. Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse of the coin was sculpted by Wojciech Pietranik. It shows the International Year of the Volunteer logo with the legend International Year of the Volunteer, 2001, and One Dollar.

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2001 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

The air force of Australia is known as the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) and was founded in 1921. To celebrate the event the Royal Australian Mint released a NCLT one dollar coin in a collector folder. The RAAF formed out of the Australian Flying Corps which flew with distinction with the RFC (Royal Flying Corps) which became the RAF (Royal Air Force) in World War 1. Formed as the Australian Air Force in early 1921 the RAAF got the Royal prefix later that same year. It has flown in many major conflicts around the world since that time, including WW2, the Malaya Emergency, Korea,Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars. It is still currently engaged in peace keeping operations in the middle east and is actively operating in Afghanistan.

The RAAF dollar is an NCLT coin (99,281 minted) and was struck in Aluminium Bronze with no mint mark. It was available in a collector folder and could be struck by visitors at the RAM on a mint your own press or by mail order from the RAM or via coin dealers. The MYO example can be found with two slight variations on the obverse, one with portrait designers initals (IRB) joined, and one with them separated. Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse is sculpted by Vladimir Gottwald and shows the RAAF badge surrounded by the legend Royal Australian Air Force 1921 - 2001. The RAAF badge depicts an Australian wedge tailed eagle, the imperial crown of Britain, and the words Royal Australian Air Force. The latin motto, per ardua ad astra means "through struggle to the stars" and is the same motto used by the RAF and dates back to the original Royal Flying Corps (pre-cursor to the RAF) in 1912.

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2001 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

2001 was a momentous year in the short history of Australia, it marked the 100th anniversary of the Federation of the nation of Australia. The 'Federation' took place on January 1 1901 when the six Australian self governing colonies of Great Britain (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania) agreed to the Constitution of Australia and became States of the new nation, the Commonwealth of Australia. Both the Royal Australian Mint and the Perth Mint took the opportunity to release a flood of commemorative non circulating and circulating coins onto the market. The RAM took the somewhat unusual step of releasing circulating commemorative 20c, 50c, and $1 coins. The 20c and 50c coins were released with a number of different designs to celebrate the event, while the one dollar coin was released with just one design. These designs can be seen in the master list of 2001 Australian Centenary of Federation Series Circulation Coins.

With a mintage of 27.9 million coins the Centenary of Federation dollar coin is not a difficult coin to find, and they still show up regularly in pocket change. Seen above the obverse of the coin depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse of the coin was designed by RAM designer, Wojciech Pietranik. It depicts a stylised map of Australia with the legend Centenary of Federation 1901-2001. Interestingly the proof version of the coin only had the legends on the coin with the map of Australia painted on using the pad printing process.

The Centenary of Federation one dollar is one of the very few Australian dollar coins that was released with a major minting error (along with the 2000 $1/10 cent Mule). During at least one die run the obverse die was not fixed correctly and rotated during the course of production resulting in coins with the obverse and reverse sides of the coins not being aligned correctly. This type of error is known as an upset. The Centenary of Federation one dollar upset has been found with upsets pretty much varying between 1 degree and 359 degrees indicating that one of the dies was moving right through the production process. In fact, some collectors of these upset coins have produced 'clock faces' of upsets with error coins at 1 o'clock (30 degrees), 2'o'clock (60 degrees) and so on. One collector I know of is trying to put together a clock face with upsets for each minute of the clock face!

For accurate coin mintage data please see the 2001 Australian 1 Dollar Coin Mintages table.

The storage method you decide on really depends on what coins you have, what their value is and if and how you want to view them.

Of the 2x2 options available we only use staple 2x2's and not adhesive 2x2's because of the risks of the holders opening and also the adhesive adhering to the coin surface and leaving residue on the coin. There are 2 types of staple 2x2's widely available in Australia.

These are:

1. Lighthouse available in a white box with blue design containing 25 holders
(has lighthouse on top tab)

2. Renniks available in clear plastic boxes of 50 holders
(has crown on top tab)

We have found the Renniks holders to be a better alternative because the window material is thicker and therefore more protective of the coin. It is not prone to tearing as we have found sometimes occurs with the Lighthouse one's. It's always wise to ensure there are no cardboard dust particles on the surface of the 2x2 when holdering up your coins as they may cause spotting on your coin over time. This being said, both these types of 2x2's are good options for bulk coin storage in polypropylene 20 pocket coin pages in polypropylene albums. Remembering it is unwise to store any of your collections near PVC.

Another option for use in 20 pocket coin pages is 2 inch by 2 inch "Saflips" available from The Purple Penny website. These are double pocket coin flips. You can put the coin in one side and heat seal it in if you wish. The other side folds over and has a second pocket which could house your coins' description or information you wish to record. We've written an article on The Purple Penny website about how to use these Saflips. They slide easily into 20 pocket coin pages but do have a tendency to be a little loose -hold the page upside down and it may fall out. For this reason as with any coin holder we recommend your album have a slip cover so if a coin does come loose in the album then it is easily retrieved and not lost.

The material used for both the Saflips and the windows in the cardboard 2x2's is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) . It is a polyester material which used to be called Mylar which was just a brand name used by Dupont. It is often still called Mylar by a lot of people.

Some album pages and 2x2 holders are made from plasticised or unplasticised pvc. It is important to steer clear of these options. If in doubt then ask for clarification from your supplier or dealer.

"The important thing when selecting holders is to buy ones made from the right materials - ask the supplier exactly what it is made of - if he doesn't know, shop elsewhere. Safe materials include polyester, polyethylene (food grade), polystyrene, polypropylene & Plexiglas. PVC, whether it is plasticized or not is not acceptable nor is acetate. The one acetate exception that I have found is Kointains - they are made from an acetate & appear to be very stable - I don't think the recipe has changed in over 50 years - I think they're a great little holder for certain applications." http://www.cointalk.com/t51602/

If you have expensive, rare and valuable coins in your collections then it's worth considering other options. We have found air-tite capsules are good. Kointains are another option but the inserts are punched for US sized coins and not Australian coins. After careful consideration of everything the approximate $30 cost of submitting a coin to PCGS for slabbing might well just be worth it for piece of mind, coin security and guarantee of authenticity the slab provides. It also provides a sound base for reselling your coin if you choose to do so.

These options bring storage questions back into review. Hard plastic HDPE pages are available that house round capsules and slabs so these can be stored in albums.

Post millenium celebrations with the Olympics over and the RAM is continuing on with military themed releases. The Army, Navy and Air Force releases prove to be popular issues and yet still affordable to pick up. These were released separately and also in a 3 coin folder. The Centenary of Federation is also an interesting issue to search for in your change looking for an "upset". 2001 is the first year also for the RAM release of Commemorative Gold sets issued in 24 carat gold. Don't expect to pick up one of those cheaply as cv is $7,500 for this issue.

Year	Description	Type	Mint Mark	Composition	Notes	Mintage
2001	Centenary of Federation	Circulation	None	AlBr	Circulation	27,905,390
	Army Centenary	Circulation	C	AlBr	Mint Your Own RAM Visitor Press & Dealer and RAM Sales	125,186
	Army Centenary	Circulation	S	AlBr	Sydney Mintmark -coins pre-struck in Canberra	38,095
	80th Anniv. of RAAF	Circulation	None	AlBr	Mint Your Own RAM Visitor Press & Dealer and RAM Sales	99,281
	90th anniv. of Navy	Circulation	None	AlBr	Available from RAM or Dealers in folder	62,429
	Army, Navy & RAAF	Circulation	Cmm only on Army, others no MM	AlBr	Three Coin Folder	12,342
	Year of the Volunteer	Circulation	None	AlBr	Circulation	6,000,000
	Army Centenary	Circulation	Cmm	AlBr	PNC	27,209
	Army Centenary	Proof	None	.999 Silver	Silver Proof Interrupted Reeding	27,209
	Centenary of Federation	Circulation	None	AlBr	Koala Baby Mint Set	32,494
	Centenary of Federation	Circulation	None	AlBr	Mint Set	90,822
	Centenary of Federation	Proof	None	AlBr	Proof Set	59,569
	Centenary of Federation	Proof	None	AlBr	Koala Baby Proof Set	15,011
	Centenary of Federation	Proof	None	.999 gold	Commemorative Gold Proof Set	350

Question:

Thanks very much! You helped a lot. And very quickly too. The mint website shows that in 1992, they only minted 8000 $1 coins. If this is correct, wouldn't this make it very valuable? Eispecially as it was circulated. And what is the chance of finding one from monetary transactions? Thanks again for the help and info!

Answer:

Hi, You should pick up a copy of Australian Coins and Banknotes by Greg McDonald currently in it's 16th edition. It's a pocket guide you can carry around and has tonnes of useful information about mintages and issues. It is just a guide and prices in there do differ from what actually goes on in the real world.

The dollar you speak of is the barcelona dollar (although that mintage is incorrect). We call that one a NCLT, non-circulating legal tender. It is the same size, shape, weight and composition of a regular dollar but it is a coin not intended to enter circulation.

However........you do sometimes see them in your change. It is quite rare though. A popular past time for some collectors is to go to the Casino or Clubs but not to gamble. Putting notes into the machines and then collecting the dollars out of the hopper, then checking them and feeding them back into the hopper to go again. Also going to the bank and withdrawing coins to browse through at home to check for all sorts of varieties or oddities. Back to the Casino, lots of people will pull NCLT coins from their packaging and spend them for a dollar (maybe stolen or they have a gambling problem) or spend coins from a money box that has been sitting for years. Just recently I picked up a Florey C mintmark dollar out of a poker machine (a NCLT coin). Although circulated it will fetch more than face value. So if you picked up a circulated barcelona dollar in your change if you put it up on ebay you might get $10 maybe more for it. The fact that it has been in circulation will lower the grade and the price that it's worth.

With regards to your collecting, I have found over the years that as I have learned more, my ideas have changed and my collecting habits have changed. Expect an evolution of your collection over time.

Regards,

The Australian-threepence.com blog team

Please note that in the interest of anonymity we always remove names so that we can share our questions and answers with everyone.

Question:

Hello, I have recently started coin collecting (very amateur, decimal coins only so far) and I had a question regarding un-circulated coins on the Australian Mint website. I have noticed a large amount of $1 uncirculated coins for sale in their shop. As much as I would like to have them all, it seems a bit excessive. Some are aimed at younger collectors (like the land series for example), would it it be worth collecting every single one? Obviously it depends on the collector but i get the impression the mint are making so many just to get sales up.. Or is it just me? Your input is most appreciated.

Answer:

Hi, There's no doubting that the RAM uses collector coins as a revenue raising exercise, and yes some of the coins are cartoonish in nature. Some years when you throw in the portable press coins, counter stamps, mint marks, privy marks, 2 coin mint sets, 6 coin mints sets, and whatever other dollar coins they manage to pump out you're really talking about a lot of coins! That being said to have a technically complete collection then you'll need every last one.

But, and this is the beauty of coin collecting, there's no need for you to have a 'complete' set. You can pick and choose what you decide to purchase and what interests you. If the pad printed dollars (like the land series) don't interest you,don't buy them. If you don't want to purchase a mint set just to break it up to get a dollar then don't, look for one on eBay or go without. One of the Australian Threepence blog authors has a very complete 25 millimetre aluminium bronze uncirculated dollar collection (circulation type), but doesn't collect proof dollars for example, nor do they collect the off metal dollars like the gold and silver coins, nor the different sized dollars from the Royal Australian Mint and Perth Mint. But I am sure they'd love to collect the gold ones!

I don't like commenting on the investment potential of collecting coins, but generally dollar coins are very hit and miss. There are some that have outrageously high values out of proportion of their mintages (like the 2000 Victoria Cross dollar), and some that seem grossly undervalued (like the portable press coins). Picking which is a winner and which isn't is purely guess work. So is it worth collecting every dollar? Well, financially, probably not, but from a collectors satisfaction point of view it could well be!

I know this hasn't answered your questions directly, but to be honest there's no simple answer. It's your collection, you decide what you like collecting, what constitutes a complete collection, and above all make sure you're enjoying yourself!

Cheers,

The Australian-Threepence. com blog Team

Please note that in the interest of anonymity we always remove names so that we can share our questions and answers with everyone.

Recently the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra moved it's entire operations.........right next door.
Visitors to the RAM can now experience Australian currency on a whole new level. The mint shop, foyer, display areas and viewing of minting operations is now a vast expanse of open, brand new luxurious space for the public's viewing pleasure.

The blog team squeezed in a fleeting weekend visit to the new Royal Australian Mint this past weekend and managed to snap a couple of pictures to share with you. As it was the weekend there wasn't too much activity.

Below is an image of one of the Mint's new robots. It was moving about as if dancing or rehearsing for something. This may have been to show off to it's audience or a critical recalibrating or testing procedure. It's job that we saw was to lift the large red drums of blanks into the blue hopper. These blanks in the hopper were then fed onto the conveyor belt where they were jiggled about to separate the blanks and remove any debris or loose metal. The blanks were sprayed with an oil type spray to help with this separation. The blanks then fell into the white tubs and transported across to the minting machine area of manufacture. This is all automatic and mint staff just stood around checking that everything was running smoothly. What we didn't manage to capture were other automatic guided vehicles (AGV's) which carried the drums of coins/blanks around the mint floor.