The Australian Coin Collecting Blog

The Complete Guide to Australian 50 Cent Coins

Posted on November 4, 2010 by kdh

This guide gives a complete list of standard sized dodecagonal Australian 50 cent coins issued. Standard coins are 12 sided, made from copper-nickel, weigh 15.55 grams and are 31.55 millimeters in diameter. We’ve also written an article about 50 cent coin values in 2009 and revisited the 50 cent coin value topic again in 2012. The 1966 Round 50 cent Coin coin is always a subject that interests collectors new and old and we’ve written some articles on how much round 50 cent coins are worth.

The 1966 Round 50 cent Coin

1966 Round 50 cent Coin

The Round 50 cent revisited

The round 50 cent coin was also minted in 2006 for the 2006 RAM proof set and again in 2010 for the very limited 2010 Heritage Set. The value of these Australian 50 cent pieces is considerably different to that of the 1966 round 50 cent. It was again issued in 2016 celebrating 50 years of decimal currency with a gold plated cupro-nickel coin, a selectively gold plated silver proof and an 80% silver coin.

2006 Round 50 cent
2010 Round 50 cent

The standard Coat of Arms dodecagonal 50c

The standard dodecagonal Coat of Arms 50 cent 50c
1969 Specimen 50 cent 50c
2005 COA 50c in World Heritage Sites PNC
2009 Gold 50 cent 50c
2012 Special Edition Hyper-Metallic and Selectively Gold Plated 50 cent 50c

Australian Commemorative 50 cent Issues

1970 Captain Cook 50 cent 50c
1977 Silver Jubilee 50 cent 50c
1981 Charles and Diana 50 cent 50c
1982 Commonwealth Games Brisbane 50 cent 50c
1988 First Fleet Bicentenary 50 cent 50c
1991 25th Anniversary of Decimal Currency 50 cent 50c
1994 Year of the Family 50 cent 50c
1995 Weary Dunlop 50 cent 50c
1998 Bass and Flinders 50 cent 50c
2000 Millennium 50 cent 50c
2000 Royal Visit 50 cent 50c
2001 Centenary of Federation 50 cent 50c
2001 State Series 50 cent – 9 coins

2002 Year of the Outback 50 cent 50c
2002 50th Anniversary of Accession 50 cent 50c
2003 Australia’s Volunteers 50 cent 50c
2003 50th Anniversary of Coronation 50 cent 50c
2004 Student Design 50 cent 50c
2005 60th Anniversary of WWII Remembrance 50 cent 50c

2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games 50c dated 2005 secondary school student design comp.
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games 50c -16 coins

2006 Queen’s 80th Birthday 50 cent 50c
2006 Royal Visit 50 cent 50c
2007 Royal Diamond 60th Wedding Anniversary50 cent 50c
2008 Scouting Centenary 50 cent 50c
2008 Australia II Victory 50 cent 50c
2009 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing 50 cent 50c
2010 Australia Day 50 cent 50c
2010 150th Anniversary of the Melbourne Cup 50 cent 50c
2010 Royal Engagement 50 cent 50c
2011 60th Anniversary of National Service 50 cent 50c
2011 Royal Wedding 50 cent 50 cent
2011 50 Years of Triple Zero Emergency Call Service 50 cent
2012 The Royal Diamond Jubilee (Stuart Devlin) 50 cent
2012 Bombing of Australia 1942 Impact Zone (Shores Under Siege Set) 50 cent
2012 The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee 50 cent (Michael Meszaros) (silver and gold proofs only)
2012 70th Anniversary of the Kokoda Trail 50 cent
2012 50th Anniversary of the Australian Ballet 50 cent
2013 50th Anniversary of Surfing Australia 50 cent
2013 50 Years of the Bathurst Endurance Race 50 cent
2013 100 Years of Commonwealth Stamps 50 cent (also in PNC)
2013 100 Years of Commonwealth Stamps 50 cent M Counterstamp (in Stamp Expo PNC)
2013 Centenary of Australian Banknotes (in 2 coin set)
2013 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II 50 cent
2013 Royal Baby 50 cent
2014 AIATSIS 50th Anniversary of Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Studies coloured 50c
2014 AIATSIS 50th Ann. circulation 50 cent
Australia at War subscription program part of the Anzac Centenary Coin Program
18 coins over 3 years, the first 3 coins issued 2/6/14
2014 Battle of Cocos 50c
2014 German New Guinea 50c
2014 Boer War coloured 50 cent
2014 Australian Flying Corps
2014 Gallipoli Campaign
2014 The Western Front

2015 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program El Alamein 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2015 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Greece 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2015 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Crete 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2015 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Empire Air Training Scheme Coloured 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2015 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Tobruk 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2015 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program War in the Pacific Coloured 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2015 50th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Mint -a honeycomb design of the 50c shape in copper-nickel, coloured and gold-plated
2015 Royal Baby (Girl) 50 cent
2015 Longest-Reigning Commonwealth Monarch 50c (issue price $10, max mintage 50,000)

2016 50th Anniversary Decimal Changeover Commemorative obverse
2016 The Battle of Pozieres, The Western Front Series 1916-2016 (1st coin, issue price $10, mintage 15,000)
2016 The Battle of Fromelles, The Western Front Series 1916-2016 (2nd coin, issue price $10, mintage 15,000)
2016 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Afghanistan 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2016 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Vietnam War Coloured 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2016 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Gulf Wars Coloured 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2016 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Korean War 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2016 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Malayan Emergency 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2016 Australia at War ANZAC Centenary Coin Program Indonesian Confrontation 50c. (issue price $10, mintage 50,000)
2016 50 Years of Play School 3 coins
2016 CuNi Gold Plated Round 50 cent for 50th Anniversary of Decimal Currency (issue price $20, mintage 21,966) Mintage includes Mint Open Day Packaging
(Also issued for the World Money Fair Packaging -Berlin with WMF Privymark)
2016 Selectively Gold Plated Round Fine Silver 50 cent Proof
2016 Holden Heritage Collection 11 Car Coins and a Special 160 Years of Holden Heritage Issue 11 coloured vehicle coins and one 160 years of Holden Heritage uncoloured coin.

2017 Ford Classic Collection 11 coloured Car Coins and a special 1925-2016 Ford Australia-The Manufacturing Era Issue uncoloured 50 cent
11 Ford coloured coins sold individually:
Model T, Model 40 ute, Mainline, XK Falcon, Cortina MK1, XR Falcon GT, GT-HO Phase III, XA Falcon, ZH Fairlane, XC Falcon Cobra, XE Falcon ESP
2017 Richie Benaud 50c. The Voice of Cricket (issue price $10, mintage 95,929)
2017 Sir Jack Brabham coloured 50c (issue price $13.50, mintage capped at 30,000)
2017 Pride and Passion Mabo 50c circulation
2017 The Battle of Bullecourt, The Western Front Series 1917-2017 50c. (3rd coin, issue price $10, mintage 15,000)
2017 The Battle of Passchendaele, The Western Front Series 1917-2017 50c. (4th coin, issue price $10, mintage 15,000)
2017 70th Anniversary of the Royal Wedding Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip (issue price $12.50, mintage capped at 30,000)

2018 Possum Magic 50c. Uncoloured in baby mint set, coloured proof in baby proof set

Posted in Collecting Coins

1988 First Fleet Bicentenary Fifty Cent Coin

Posted on October 4, 2010 by msn

1988 First Fleet Bicentenary 50 Cent

In 1988 Australia celebrated 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet. Captain Arthur Phillip led the party of 11 ships to the founding of Sydney and the colonisation of New South Wales. Arriving between 18-20th January 1788 1,487 men, women, children and convicts landed to establish the first European colony in Australia.

There were many events around the country planned for the Bicentenary in 1988 including a 50 cent coin released into circulation by the Royal Australian Mint. This dodecagonal (12 sided) 31.51mm copper (75%) nickel (25%) coin weighed in at 15.55 grams with a plain edge. The reverse depicts an uncharted map of New Holland (Australia), the stars of the southern cross and a ship of the First Fleet. This coin is often nicknamed the “Tall Ships” coin when found in change. It was designed by Michael Tracey. The standard obverse for 1988 was the Raphael Maklouf portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the last year this portrait was used.

8,998,800 of these coins were released into circulation in 1988. They also feature in the Masterpieces in Silver issues of 1988 and 1989 in sterling silver proof, the 1989 issue being a 1989 dated 50c. Mint and Proof year sets for 1988 also feature this Tall ships coin.

A one dollar was also released for the Bicentenary in 1988.

Posted in Collecting Coins

Coin Errors of Interest A Multiple Strike 1946 Shilling

Posted on August 27, 2010 by kdh

1946 Shilling Struck Multiple Times

Compared with how many coins are minted in a production run, the rate of error is quite small. The coin shown is a very interesting example of an error coin. On first glance it looks like it may have been tampered with to produce the features that is has such as a wide flat flan and distorted lettering.

On closer inspection this however is not the case. This 1946 shilling was struck as any coin would be. The coin failed to exit the press but was pushed up out of the collar. It was struck again, and again, each time out of the collar. How many times? Perhaps up to 4 times! Now it was these subsequent strikes that did the damage and left the clues to how this coin was made. There is edge milling present indicating it was once struck within the collar as normal. The rim beads show evidence of being smeared outwards when the coin was struck out of the collar which has resulted in the pancake like flan typical of an out of collar strike.

The ram and portrait are well struck with no damage further disagreeing with with any post mint damage scenario. The legends are however a different story. The reverse shows clear doubling and tripling of the letters indicating there was more than one strike at a very slight rotation. The obverse shows distortion to the lettering this time making them thinner, the subsequent strikes obliterating the width to the letters because of the slight rotation. This is a common indicator of a double struck coin.

Reverse letter doubling/tripling, doubling/tripling on top of horn and star distortion due to the subsequent strikes

Obverse letter distortion and rim beads smeared outwards during the out of collar strikes

Posted in Error Coins

The Die Cap Coin Error

Posted on July 17, 2010 by kdh

2009 Citizenship $1 Die Cap

Above is an example of a type of coin error known as a die cap, bottle cap or bottle top coin error. This particular coin is on display at The Royal Australian Mint in their First Floor display area showing visitors some of the types of mishaps that can occur to coins or the equipment during production. This coin is a Citizenship One Dollar which was the mintmark NCLT dollar issue for 2009.

A die cap is a spectacular error coin indeed because it is the “parent” coin to potentially many, many brockages that may escape the mint. The die cap error occurs when a struck coin fails to exit the press and adheres to the hammer or moving die (which in the above error was the reverse die). The side of the die cap which was struck by the anvil die (which in the coin above is the portrait of the Queen) then starts striking subsequent coins rather than the die itself. This means that the next blank fed into the press will have a mirror image of the anvil die design struck into one side of the coin, this newly struck coin is now known as a brockage. The die cap, which is still stuck to the hammer die will continue to strike brockage coins and will become more and more dished in shape until it finally breaks free of the hammer die and exits the press. In extreme cases it has to be physically removed by mint staff when they notice a problem which is probably how the above example was found. As the sides of the die cap work their way up the sides of the hammer die it takes on the form of a ‘bottle cap’, which is another name that the die cap error is sometimes known by.

As the die cap strikes more and more brockages the more and more distorted the face of the cap will become, and the quality of strikes to the brockages will be come worse and worse. Brockages struck soon after a die cap adheres to the hammer die with a well formed mirror image strike are known as ‘early state’ brockages. Those struck by a die cap with a largely obliterated design on the die cap face are known as ‘late state’ brockages and their mirror image strikes are pretty much unrecognisable.

Australian Die Cap in the Royal Australian Mints’ National Coin Collection

Posted in Error Coins

Rabbit Ear Dollar Errors

Posted on June 12, 2010 by msn

2010 Rabbit Ear Dollar

Since the introduction of the one dollar coin in 1984 a weak spot on reverse die for the the 5 mob of roos design has resulted in a variety of the dollar coins which you might find in your change. Because of the common weak spot on the die of the mob of roos design in some years a die chip of various sizes and slightly different locations has occurred and cuds are formed on the resulting struck coins.

The very top roo on Stuart Devlin’s design may appear to have a small cud on the ear, we might call this a “flea ear”. Increase the size of this flea and we have what collectors term the “rabbit ear dollar”. These rabbit ears vary from small to huge. A rabbit ear that has disengaged from the ear and occurred further down the roos back is affectionately termed a “backpack or rucksack” roo. Die weakness has also shown itself at the top most roos mouth causing a “spew roo or spitting roo”.

A cud can occur anywhere on a coin design where a failure of the die has occurred and a part broken or chipped away. Cuds have also occurred at the base of the tail on the left hand roo causing a “double tail”. It is quite common for coins to have rim cuds which are really the same type of error as we’re talking about here.

Large Rabbit Ear Cud

These errors tend to appear on some years more than others. Is this because of a larger production run or a lower number of dies in use for a particular year and therefore there is pressure on the die to stay intact for a longer run of coins? No-one is really sure and after 26 years in production this error continues to occur on the mob of roos dollar coins.

What Years Can Rabbit Ear Dollar Errors Be Found?

Rabbit Ears can be found only in particular years, notably 1984, 1985 (rarer), 1994, 1998, 2000, 2006 ,2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2015 in various sizes. Collectors have noted the spew roo occurring mostly in 2006 but it has been found in other years, with the spew and rabbit occurring on some coins at the same time.

Close-up image of a large Rabbit Ear

Posted in Error Coins

Flip Over Double Struck Error

Posted on June 12, 2010 by kdh

Australia 1951 Penny Flip Over Double Strike Error

We’ve talked about double struck coin errors and rotated double struck coin errors but the most uncommon of double strike errors is the ‘flip over double strike’. This error might occur when a previously struck coin returns to the coining chamber (perhaps it got back into the hopper of blanks) or the coin fails to exit correctly and flips over and lands back in the press upside down to it’s first strike. The coin is then re-struck with the previous obverse struck by the reverse dies and the reverse by the obverse dies. Both strikes are within the collar die.

Above you can see an Australian 1951 Penny (with an unfortunate carbon spot) that is a flip over double strike error. The ‘obverse’ of the coin shows the portrait of George V, however, if you look closely you can see the numerals of a date in the top of his hair, a roo’s tail leading backwards from his ear, and the forelegs of a roo in the hair behind his ear. You can see these forelegs in the detail image below.

Detail image of obverse showing roo’s forelegs behind Kings ear

The reverse of the coin is a little more spectacular with the King’s nose and mouth from the first strike clearly visible above back of the kangaroo. The ghosted image of the top of the King’s head runs from the bottom of the kangaroo’s back leg in a curved arc around and through the date ending up in the tail. Where it meets the tail you can see the forehead of the King. Below is a detail image of the top of the roo’s back showing the King’s nose and mouth.

Detail image of reverse showing Kings face above roo’s back

Posted in Error Coins

Australian 1966 20c Obverse Die Differences

Posted on April 5, 2010 by msn

A well known Australian decimal variety expert mentioned recently on the Australian Coin and Banknote Forum* that not only does the reverse of the 1966 20c coin show distinct mint marks, but also the obverse die shows differences between coins minted in London and those minted in Canberra. Immediately thinking, here’s an opportunity to make use of our new Dino-Lite USB Microscope we thought we’d take a look at this. Unfortunately the author of this entry only had several low grade London and Canberra 1966 20c coins to work with so the investigation was confined to comparing the size of features on the obverse of the coin. We plan, at a later date, to image high grade coins from both mints to see if there are any die feature differences between the two mints.

Firstly, it is apparent that Canberra minted coins have slightly thinner obverse rims and the lettering of the legends is closer to the rim. This is shown clearly in the image below:

Australia 1966 20c LIA Detail, London Mint Left, Canberra Mint Right

You can see a detailed micrograph of the LIA of Australia with the London minted 1966 20c coin on the left, and the Canberra coin on the right. The lettering is noticeably closer to the edge on the Canberra coin. The next task was to look at the size of HM’s portrait to determine if the lettering was simply spaced differently on the two dies or to determine if the die on the London coins was a ‘small obverse’ and that on the Canberra coins a ‘large obverse’. You can see the results below (including magnified cut-outs to show detail).

Australia 1966 20c Obverse Detail, London Mint Left, Canberra Mint Right

It is readily apparent that the portrait of the London minted coins is significantly smaller than that of the Canberra minted coins. One can only wonder how this could have happened. For a difference in the size of the dies use to produced the machines one would think that an (ever so slightly) different reduction ratio was used on the reduction lathe which is used to produce master steel dies from the relief model of the coin design. These master dies are used to produce working hobs which in turn would have been used to produce the working dies that actually minted the coins.

We’ll be doing some further research into this to try to shed some more light on the subject. Stay tuned.

Posted in Australian Decimal Changeover, Collecting Coins

Australian 1934-35 Centenary Florin

Posted on March 28, 2010 by kdh

1934-35 Melbourne Centenary Florin PCGS MS66

On June 21st 1934 it was announced in the “Argus”, the Melbourne daily newspaper of the time, that arrangements had been made between Centenary officials, representatives of the British Treasury and the Commonwealth Government for a special commemorative florin to be struck for the occasion. This occasion was the centenary of first two permanent settlements in Victoria, Portland Bay in 1834 and Melbourne in 1835.

A limited number of coins were struck for the Centenary Council, to be sold and distributed by them at a shilling above face value with the profits going to the Council. The costs for the production of this coin were borne by the Centenary Council itself which included the provision of a special die which cost approximately 100 pounds (the average wage in 1934 was just 4 pounds so this was no small expense).

As of 15 February 1935, of the 75,000 coins that had been minted only 11,000 had been sold which became a burden on the Centenary Council. The Centenary Council were told soon after that the remaining unsold coins would be melted down in 6 weeks time if they had not been sold.

With poor sales due to the great depression, a local department store put in a request for 30,000 coins. This was “Foy and Gibson”, with the coins to be given out in customers’ change along with a commemorative paper bag to store their special coin. These days both types of “Foy” bag, the Melbourne and Perth command high premiums (often more than the value of a Centenary florin) even without a coin inside.

21,000 coins were eventually melted down leaving a mintage of the 1934-5 Centenary Florin at 54,000 coins.

That’s the history of the coin in a nutshell but what about the design on the coin? The obverse was the effigy of George V by Percy Metcalfe which was used on New Zealand and Canadian coins but only on the Centennial Florin in Australia. This design was also used in other Commonwealth countries at the time.

Close-up of Rider and Wreath

The reverse featured a horse and rider by George Kruger Gray, known also for his design on the ramshead shilling, coat of arms florin and the crown. The design signified the centenary of settlement in Victoria. The horse represented the major mode of transportation throughout the previous 100 years (1834-1935) and show it was a major contributor to exploration, settlement, cultivation and industry in Victoria. The horses front foot is raised indicating a limitless future to the growth and prosperity of Victoria. The nude rider, a young Victorian gentleman grown to manhood indicating a strong future for the state. The torch he bears symbolises progress and enlightenment.

This Australian centenary florin is 28.5mm in diameter and weighs 11.31grams. It is manufactured from 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. These key date commemorative coins have a high catalogue value and beware of a lot of counterfeit types out there.

Posted in Collecting Coins

Australian 1966 Decimal Coin Mint Marks

Posted on March 28, 2010 by msn

Due to the large number of coins required for the February 14 1966 changeover to decimal coinage in Australia several mints both here and abroad were used to produce the 1966 cupro nickel and bronze coinage. Coins were struck at the London, Perth, and Melbourne branches of the Royal Mint and at the new Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. There were no mintmarks on any of the coins to allow easy determination of which mint a coin was produced at. According to the Controller of the Mint at the time, Jim Henderson:

…it was intended that all Australian coins would be struck in the Royal Australian Mint after the initial changeover to decimals had been satisfied, it was not considered necessary to distinguish the coins by a specific mark identifying the mint of origin. There are, therefore, no mintmarks, as such, on the decimal coins.

However, it was possible (by the use of die markers) to distinguish what mints coins were minted at. These marks were disclosed by the Controller of the Mint in two letters to The Australian Coin Review in April 1967 (for the bronze 1c and 2c coins) and August 1971 (for the Cupro Nickel 5c, 10c, and 20c coins). All of the 80% silver round 50c coins were minted at the RAM in Canberra. This blog article will (eventually) be a single source of information online to allow you to identify the 1966 decimal coins by their mint of origin.

Identifying 1966 Decimal Coins by Mint of Origin

Addendum:

Australian 1966 20c Obverse Die Differences

Reference: “How to Distinguish All 1966 Decimal Mintings”, pp1-4, The Australian Coin Review, August 1971 Vol 8, No 2

Posted in Australian Decimal Changeover, Collecting Coins

Australian 1966 20c Mint Marks

Posted on March 28, 2010 by msn

Australia 1966 20c – London Mint -no gap (left), Canberra Mint -gap (right)

The 1966 20c coin was minted at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra (28,196,000 coins) and the London branch of the Royal Mint (30,000,000 coins). I find this coin a little tougher to pick between the two mints. The water swirl that ends in a point next to the platypus’ head on the reverse is supposed to have no gap (or a very small gap) between the swirl and the head on the London coin, and show a distinct gap on the Canberra minted coin. However if the strike is slightly weaker on the London minted coins then there can be a small gap present and the coin must be examined closely to be sure of the mint of origin.

You can find out about the other 1966 decimal coin mint marks by looking at our 1966 Australian decimal coin mint mark article.

Posted in Australian Decimal Changeover

The Complete Guide to Australian 50 Cent Coins

1988 First Fleet Bicentenary Fifty Cent Coin

Coin Errors of Interest A Multiple Strike 1946 Shilling

The Die Cap Coin Error

Rabbit Ear Dollar Errors

What Years Can Rabbit Ear Dollar Errors Be Found?

Flip Over Double Struck Error

Australian 1966 20c Obverse Die Differences

Australian 1934-35 Centenary Florin

Australian 1966 Decimal Coin Mint Marks

Australian 1966 20c Mint Marks

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