1966 1c and 2c Green card Mint Set
The 1966 green card mint set houses an example of each of the new 1c and 2c coins released at the changeover to decimal currency on February 14th 1966.
These were some of the very first new decimal coins struck by the Royal Australian Mint and were packaged for visitors to the Mint at that time. Intended for children, the green and white poly-card pack was sold for 5c each.
The Mint had wanted to charge 20c for each set as the cost of the packaging alone was 12 cents, but Treasury insisted that they were for children and the cost should be kept to a minimum. 43,100 were manufactured although it's not known how many of these sets have survived today. After bus-loads of school children visited the Canberra Mint, each spending their 5c, the RAM staff had the arduous task of cleaning up all the discarded empty packaging as the children had ripped open their packs of shiny new coins.
Today these sets sell for around $100 each (Dec 2012).
1966 1c and 2c Green card Mint Set
Reference:
Mick Vort-Ronald, "Uncirculated Decimal Coin Sets" (September 2000) Australian Coin Review
Posted by harrisk at December 15, 2012 1:12 PM
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