Australian Government - Royal Australian Mint

Annual Report 2006-07

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Marketing

Numismatic Program

The 2006-07 numismatic program was highlighted by the launch of the Great Australian Artist Series within the kangaroo coin range. The Mint experienced a quick sell out of the 1/10oz gold version of the kangaroo coins designed by Rolf Harris. His design has been our most poignant yet, and we were thrilled to work with such a respected Australian artist. Our kangaroo coins have been highly collectible since 1993, and the invitation to famous Australian artists to design a coin in the series has been well received by our customers. The Mint enjoyed the opportunity to produce coins for The Ashes cricket series. Our $5 silver Ashes coins were used as the official coin in the toss at the beginning of all the test matches. The coins were inspected and passed by the International Cricket Council as further testament to our commitment to precision engineering and our reputation for world class minting. The tossed coins were subsequently auctioned and raised over $27,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The Mint's Lunar Coin program was established and the Year of the Pig was our first release during the year. Our designs symbolising the Chinese zodiac feature authentic Chinese symbols and symmetrical borders, and have been a resounding success here and overseas with our Asian collectors and dealers.

We also commenced a colourful range of pad printed coins. The Ocean Series, featuring brilliantly coloured marine animals, was developed originally with the younger generations of collectors and Australian souvenir buyers in mind. These coins have, however, delighted all ages and markets, including a good number of our more circumspect collectors.

The Masterpieces in Silver — Australian Art of the 20th Century II was unveiled during the year and paid homage to four highly respected artists with depictions of their famous works. The set featured Australian classics: The Curve of the Bridge by Grace Cossington Smith, Implement Blue by Margaret Preston, Margaret Olley by William Dobell and Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri’s Yuelamu Honey Ant Dreaming, which was reproduced in full colour on silver to striking effect.

The Mint's reputation as a producer of high quality minted products was again upheld during the year, with our 2006 $1 Proof Silver Kangaroo winning Best Silver Coin at the Denver American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money 'Coin of the Year Awards' in August 2006.

Key collector coins released during the financial year were:

• 2007 Six Coin Set

  Celebrating 100 years of surf lifesaving in Australia and the Year of the Surf Lifesaver. The proof set features a special design of a dramatic team rescue on the $1 coin. The uncirculated set features a special design of a rope line rescue manoeuvre on the 20 cent piece. Royalties from sales of this set went to the Surf Life Saving Association. Lifesavers have saved over 500,000 lives in the past 100 years.

• 2007 Australian Baby Coin Sets

  Once again the Baby Coin Sets featured ‘The Magic Pudding’ by Norman Lindsay. The 2007 Baby Proof Coin Set comprises the standard coin designs in a proof finish. The 2007 Baby Uncirculated Coin Set featured for the first time a special $1 coin design depicting the author and the main characters in his book.

• 2007 Fine Silver Proof Year Set

  Commemorating 100 years of surf lifesaving in Australia and the Year of the Surf Lifesaver, this set featured special designs for the $1 and 20 cent coins with the remaining standard circulating designs all in fine silver.

• 2007 Six Coin Gold Set — 100 Years of Surf Life Saving

  300 sets in 99.99 percent gold were available exclusively from the Mint and were highly sought after. The total mintage sold out quickly.

• State Government Series

  Three silver proof coins acknowledge respectively the 150 year anniversaries of State Government in Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. The mintage was restricted to 12,500 and each featured a modern design of the state’s shape extracted from an image of a symbol of Australia evolving.

• 75th Anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge — 2007 Silver Proof and Mintmark Coins

  We dedicated our mintmark series and the $1 silver proof coin to the anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The 75th birthday was remembered with the depiction of the remarkable moment when the two halves of the bridge were joined. There were four mintmarks to collect in the series and an exclusive quantity were struck on the portable press at three coin shows. A $5 silver proof coin was also struck featuring the completed bridge.

• 2007 $1 Uncirculated — International Polar Year 2007-2008 —The Territories

  This first coin commenced our participation in the internationally recognised year of outreach and education into polar science. The $1 aluminium bronze coin is the first of three coins to be released but the only one to be released in the reporting year. This coin has been very popular and bodes well for the subsequent release of coins in this three year program.

Medals, Medallions and Tokens

The Mint manufactures a number of Australian honours and awards for a range of clients and also manufactures tokens and medallions for commercial customers both domestically and overseas. The products are principally for corporate promotional purposes. We again minted the proof and uncirculated sets of New Zealand and the New Zealand $5 silver proof coin featuring the Tuatara.

Public Outreach and Industry Support

The Mint attended numerous trade shows and coin fairs for the purpose of supporting the industry and promoting our products, as well as engaging with the general public and the collecting community. These attendances included:

• 2006 Sydney ANDA Show;
• 2006 Brisbane Ekka Show;
• 2006 ANA World’s Fair of Money — Denver;
• 2006 Royal Melbourne Show;
• 2006 Berlin World Money Fair;
• 2007 Sydney Easter Show; and
• 2007 Brisbane ANDA Show.

The Mint also had the following public launches:

• 150th Anniversary of State Government coins (New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania) in Melbourne at the State Library of Victoria;
• Great Australian Artist Kangaroo coin series designed by Rolf Harris CBE in Canberra at the Royal Australian Mint;
• November products launch in Canberra at the Royal Australian Mint featuring the Year of the Surf Lifesaver coin and sets unveiled by the Treasurer, the Hon. Peter Costello MP;
• 75th Anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge coin range in Canberra at the Royal Australian Mint;
• International Polar Year uncirculated coin launch in Melbourne at the Royal Society of Victoria; and
• ‘Turning of the Sod’ official commencement of refurbishment works ceremony at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra.
• The Treasurer and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon. Chris Pearce MP also attended the Brisbane and Melbourne Ashes cricket tests respectively as the Royal Australian Mint’s $5 silver proof coins were used in the toss.

Customer Service and Communication

During the year the Communications section within the Marketing department responded to a total of 77 written enquiries from the public on various topics. These enquiries are oft en about coin production, manufacturing and mintage history. The following is a breakdown of the topics covered in this correspondence:

• 37 General enquiries;
• 21 Coin design requests; and
• 19 Applications to reproduce coin designs.

The Mint also provides an email link for customers and members of the public. A total of 2,238 enquiries were received during the year. The Mint Call Centre dealt with 1,125 enquiries such as requests concerning order status, update of contact details, mailing list matters and tracking of parcels. The Marketing Department dealt with the remaining 1,113 enquiries as follows: