2012 Remembrance Red Poppy $2 Coin

The 2012 Remembrance Day red poppy two dollar coin is almost certainly the most popular $2 coin among Australian coin collectors. A common question from new and experienced collectors is what is the 2012 red poppy $2 coin actually worth? Well, like most questions in coin collecting, the answer is, it depends. It’s worth a quick look at how the coin was issued before we get into values. The coin itself was never intended to circulate and the colour was applied with a pad printing process and was not very durable. As a non-circulating design with a mintage of just 503,000 it was initially released via the Returned Services League (RSL). The coins were supplied to the RSL in Chubb security rolls of 25 coins. These rolls had dark green paper with black writing that read “$50 Two Dollar Coins” and included the Chubb logo.

RSL staff and volunteers broke open the rolls and released the coins with a collector card. They initially glued (yes glued) the coin to the card with a silicon adhesive. When told this was harmful to the coin they then put the coin in a ziplock baggie and either stapled this to the card or supplied the coin in the baggie loose with the card. Release price of the coin with the card was a $10 donation to the RSL. This was a cost of $2 to the RSL and a profit to the RSL as a fund raising activity. At this time some RSL branches were also selling entire rolls of the coins because they couldn’t dispose of red poppy $2 coins with cards fast enough.

The Two Dollar Remembrance Day Red Poppy coin was also struck with a ‘C’ mintmark, the ‘C’ representing Canberra. 40,902 of the ‘C’ Mintmark red poppies were produced and issued in a mix of cards and postal numismatic covers (PNCs). The most common way you’ll see these mintmark poppies is in a capsule housed in a cardboard ‘tri-fold’ folder that were issued for $12.95. The ‘C’ mintmark coin was also released in a 2012 PNC by Australia Post for $19.95. The “C” mintmark red poppy was also released in 2014 PNC that included the 2014 Green Dove Remembrance $2 coin.

Before we get started on values it’s important to realise two things. Firstly, these values are RETAIL values, if you’re selling on eBay you might get these but remember eBay takes a cut. If you’re selling to a dealer expect to get about 20% to 50% less than the prices quoted. Second thing to realise is that the prices are current at time of writing (July 2020). To get an idea of values right now try checking out 2012 Remembrance Red Poppy $2 Sold Results on eBay.

2012 Red Poppy $2 Coin on RSL Collector Card

2012 Red Poppy (No Mintmark) Value

Right now for a nice uncirculated 2012 red poppy $2 coin you can expect to get $100-$150 for your coin. If it includes an RSL collector card add $10 to that. If your coin is one of those that was glued to the card and is now toned expect to get $20-$30 less. PCGS graded 2012 red poppies really only start to be worth more than non graded examples in PCGS MS66 or higher. At that point you might get $200, or in MS67 $300. If you want to see what red poppies are going for on eBay right now then click this link to be taken to eBay.

There is one other popular way you might see the no mintmark 2012 Red Poppy, and that’s in a capsule on red and black information card that was issued by Downies Coins. These (at the time of writing) sell for about $200 or so. We find this a bit odd as the quality of the coins on these cards is typically WORSE than those found with the RSL Collector cards.

It’s important to note a major factor in the value of your coin and that’s the condition of the paint. Chipped paint poppies generally sell for much less than a full paint poppy example. Back in 2012 when the RSL were opening rolls of coins they typically banked poor paint examples as they were deemed unsaleable at the $10 rate.

2012 Red Poppy ‘C’ Mintmark Folder

2012 Red Poppy ‘C’ Mintmark Value

A ‘C’ mintmark red poppy in a well kept ‘tri-fold’ folder might be worth $300-$400 right now. One in a 2012 Australia Post Red Poppy PNC would be worth a very similar amount as would the 2014 PNC that includes the 2014 Green Remembrance $2 coin. If you want to see what ‘C’ mintmark 2012 red poppies are going for on ebay right now click this link to be taken to Ebay.

2012 Red Poppy Roll Value

Original Chubb security rolls of 2012 Red Poppies are very valuable, selling for $2500 to $4,000. Often they sell for more than the value of the individual coins which is very unusual. If you’re interested in purchasing a roll we suggest sticking to those with Chubb paper. Some sellers suggest that some rolls were released in plain brown paper, however we handled several hundred original rolls back in 2012 and only EVER saw those in green paper. If you intend to open the roll to cash in then remember the original rolling process wasn’t beneficial to the paint applied to the coin and you should expect to see some coins with chipped paint inside. Click this link to be taken to eBay and go crazy!

Australian 1943 Penny Struck in India

If you’re wondering what your 1943 penny is worth then you need to understand a few things before moving forward. Firstly, 1943 was right in the middle of World War 2 and there was a need for coin to keep the wheels of commerce in Australia turning. Because of this the mintage of Australian 1943 pennies is high. How high? More than 53 million bronze pennies were minted for 1943! What does that mean? It means that if a coin collector is looking for a 1943 penny they are not going to have too much trouble finding one! The second thing to be aware of is that 1943 pennies were actually minted in three different branches of the Royal Mint spread across two countries. 1943 pennies were struck in Melbourne, Perth, and Bombay in India!

So what is a 1943 Australian Penny Worth?

You need to be aware that the value of 1943 pennies is very closely related to the grade of the coin. If you’ve got a well circulated penny that is toned brown, then you’ve got a coin that is worth less than a dollar, regardless of the mint the coin was made at. An Extremely Fine coin with traces of mint red might be worth $20, almost uncirculated coins worth perhaps $50-$75. A full red uncirculated 1943 penny from the Melbourne, Perth, or Bombay Mint is worth up to $250. As usual you’re likely to see higher values for top graded PCGS certified 1943 pennies rather than raw ungraded coins.

USA 1943 Copper Wheat Penny (Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions)

But What’s All this About 1943 Copper Pennies Being Worth Thousands?

If you’ve come here thinking your 1943 penny is worth thousands then you’re getting confused with a very few United States of America Wheat Cents (also called pennies) that were dated 1943 that were struck in copper. You can see one of these very rare coins above. It turns out that almost all USA 1943 Wheat Cents were struck in steel, while some small number were accidentally struck in copper. These copper 1943 Wheat Cents are indeed very valuable being worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. In contrast, 1943 Australian Pennies (which are actually Bronze NOT Copper) are not particularly valuable as we’ve already discussed earlier.

Values were current at time of writing in December 2019.