Australian coins you find in your change can have more value than their stated denomination and if you've done your homework and know what to look out for you can take advantage of this. Values for Australian collector coins and those not intended for circulation can and often do have a much higher value than their circulating cousins.
A lot of people and many people who contact us have a variety of new and old coins lying around and they want to know how much they are worth. This blog is a great place to start and we've gathered quite a lot of interested readers who read our posts about all sorts of numismatic topics.
A great place to start to find out about the value of your Australian coins is the latest 17th edition of Greg McDonald's 2010 Pocket guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes. This catalogue ranges through early proclamation coins, pre-decimal coins, decimals and banknotes. If you have a coin shop or dealer nearby then it's also worth stopping by and showing them what you have because grading a coin accurately can sometimes mean the catalogue value differs by of hundreds of dollars.
Correctly identifying your Australian coin is very important when determining its' value. Sometimes the same coin may be available in several different types of packaging or the same design might be struck in a different metal and with a different face value. This is where the catalogue, our blog articles or a Google search will help you narrow your search down to find the value of your coin. We have a whole series of one dollar articles to help you identify and value your Australian one dollar coin correctly.
Valuable coins can be found in your change and it's worth educating yourself so you know what to look out for. Avid collectors always check their change when they get some hoping to be lucky and get a 2000 $1/10c mule , a wavy baseline 20c coin , an upset federation dollar or an millennium incuse flag 50c coin.
Often unique pieces emerge through accidents at the Mint. Mostly these are picked up before the coins leave the facility but the odd one slips through. We've labelled these extreme decimal rarities and they are very hard to come by. Mostly these are accidental and fall into the category of error coins. These accidents might occur due to mechanical failures, human error, or flaws in the raw material of the coin itself. They can often be very spectacular coins, you can see such interesting coins made incorrectly in a display which is in the visitor gallery at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra.
Other rare coins found in change might just be those with a low mintage or minor varieties which might just command a small premium over face value.
When decimal currency was introduced in 1966 our 50c was a round version made of 80% silver. Whilst not rare coins by a long shot, these coins have been hoarded by the public because of their silver bullion value. They are worth well over their face value of 50c today, the exact value fluctuates with the bullion trade.
Posted by harrisk at January 8, 2010 12:36 PM
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