New Effigy Unveiled (image courtesy ramint.gov.au)
The announcement that Australia would have a different portrait of the Queen struck on new coins coincided with the 92nd birthday of our reigning monarch. On the 21st April 2018 (the Queen’s actual birthday not the holiday we celebrate it on) the Australian Government announced that in 2019 all Australian coins would feature a new effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, a modified version of the Jody Clark design depicted on British coins since 2015. The new image of the Queen by Royal Mint designer Jody Clark will replace that in use since 1998 by designer Ian Rank-Broadley. All coins currently in circulation will remain legal tender.
The Two Jody Clark Designs. Left UK Coins, Right New Australian Coins (image courtesy Royal Mint and ramint.gov.au)
Australia’s new coin obverse will be the sixth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II used on Australian coins. It features the Queen facing right wearing the Royal Diamond Diadem. She wore this crown at the coronation and also in the Raphael Maklouf portrait used on Australian coins from 1985-1998.The design is different to that on UK coins as it shows the Queen’s shoulders, sees her wearing pearls and there are design differences in the hair curls. We’ll see this design on all new coins minted for 2019 including collector coins and circulating coins.
The evolving effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on Australian Coins from left Gillick, Machin, Maklouf, Gottwald, Rank-Broadley and the new Clark design.
