FAQ

Internet FAQ


	About the Mint F.A.Q Organisational Chart Corporate Profile Service Charter Consumer Information Annual Reports Contact Us eShop Coin Design Commemorative Coin Designs Circulating Coin Designs Policy on circulating coin designs Policy on uncirculating coin designs Application to use coin designs (PDF 25kb) Fraud Control Policy Worn and Damaged Coin Policy Compliance Reporting Legal Services Expenditure Contracts Records Management Portfolio Budget 08-09

The following table details the standard and commemorative designs that have appeared on our currency.

20 CENT – TRADITIONAL DESIGN

Cupro-Nickel - Composition: 75% copper, 25% nickel

YEAR	DESIGN	Obverse Designer	Reverse Designer
1966-1984 1993-1998 1999-	Platypus Platypus Platypus	Arnold Machin Raphael Maklouf Ian Rank-Broadley	Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin

20 CENT – COMMEMORATIVE DESIGNS

Cupro-Nickel - Composition: 75% copper, 25% nickel

YEAR	DESIGN	Obverse Designer	Reverse Designer
1995	50^th Anniversary of the United Nations To commemorate the 50^th Anniversary of the UN	Raphael Maklouf	Horst Hahne	Circulating only but in addition to definitive design
2001	Sir Donald Bradman Tribute	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Circulating only
2001	Federation: New South Wales The floral emblem of NSW, the Waratah, against an outline of the state of NSW	Ian Rank-Broadley	Joseph Neve	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Australian Capital Territory Collage of ACT symbols. The Royal Bluebell, Canberra Federation Roses, an outline of the ACT map, the flagpole of the Australian Parliament House and the Federation Star.	Ian Rank-Broadley	Stacey Jo-Ann Paine	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Queensland A time clock of Australian history. A stylised gecko leaving ripples in the water, the ‘hour’ hand of time points to Federation (1901) and the ‘minute’ hand points to Centenary (2001), between the two our footsteps change to shoeprints as lasting impressions of our journey	Ian Rank-Broadley	Jenifer Gray	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Victoria Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne. The location of the first sitting of Federal Parliament in Australia on 9 May 1901.	Ian Rank-Broadley	Ryan Douglas Ladd and Mark Aaron Kennedy	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Norfolk Island Norfolk Island’s people. The outline of Norfolk Island behind a Norfolk Island pine, a white tern bird, a fish, the sun, an anchor to denote the historic HMS Sirius (shipwrecked 1790) and the ship refers to the monthly delivery of supplies.	Ian Rank-Broadley	Megan Cummings	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Northern Territory Two brolgas set against the background of the Territory’s mountains	Ian Rank-Broadley	Lisa Brett	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Western Australia Outline of WA overlaid by a Rabbit Eared Bandicoot (Bilby) and a sprig of Kangaroo Paw flora.	Ian Rank-Broadley	Janice Ng	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: South Australia Collage of SA symbols. Sturt’s Desert Pea, the Southern Cross and the Adelaide Hills	Ian Rank-Broadley	Lisa Murphy	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Tasmania An outline of Tasmania overlaid with the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger)	Ian Rank-Broadley	Abbey MacDonald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2003	Australia’s Volunteers	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2005	Home Coming - 60th Anniversary of WWII	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2007	Year of the Surf Lifesaver	Ian Rank-Broadley	Tony Dean	Proof and uncirculating

50 CENT – TRADITIONAL DESIGN (ROUND)

Silver - Composition: 80% Silver, 20% Copper

YEAR

DESIGN

Obverse Designer

Reverse Designer

1966

Commonwealth Coat of Arms

Arnold Machin

Stuart Devlin

Decimal currency was introduced in 1966 to replace the existing pounds, shillings and pence currency. The round 50cent coin was only produced in 1966, after which, the shape and metal composition was changed due to these factors:-

– complaints were made that the size of the 50cent coin was too close to the 20cent coin; and

– the price of silver rose considerably, making the silver content higher than the face value.

In Parliament on 20 March 1968, The Treasurer, the Right Honourable William McMahon, said in reply to a question without notice “…we have been looking at alternatives to see whether there should be a different type of coin both in terms of shape and mineral content….” The shape and composition of a coin to replace the silver 50cent piece gave rise to very extensive investigations in the Mint and eventually the Government decided that the substitute coin would be twelve-sided and composed of the now standard composition of 75% copper, 25% nickel.

50 CENT – TRADITIONAL DESIGN (12 SIDED DODECAGON)

Cupro-Nickel - Composition: 75% copper, 25% nickel

YEAR	DESIGN	Obverse Designer	Reverse Designer
1969 1971-1976 1978-1981 1983-1984 1985-1993 1996-1997 1999-	Commonwealth Coat of Arms Commonwealth Coat of Arms Commonwealth Coat of Arms Commonwealth Coat of Arms Commonwealth Coat of Arms Commonwealth Coat of Arms Commonwealth Coat of Arms	Arnold Machin Arnold Machin Arnold Machin Arnold Machin Raphael Maklouf Raphael Maklouf Ian Rank-Broadley	Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin

50 CENT – COMMEMORATIVE DESIGNS

Cupro-Nickel - Composition: 75% copper, 25% nickel

YEAR	DESIGN		Obverse Designer	Reverse Designer
1970	Portrait of Captain Cook		Arnold Machin	Stuart Devlin	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1977	Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Silver Jubilee Design		Arnold Machin	Stuart Devlin	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1981	Charles & Di Royal Wedding		Arnold Machin	Stuart Devlin	Circulating only but in addition to definitive design
1982	XIIth Commonwealth Games		Arnold Machin	Stuart Devlin	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1988	First Fleet Bicentenary		Raphael Maklouf	Michael Tracey	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1991	25^th Decimal Anniversary Ram’s head		Raphael Maklouf	George Kruger Gray Horst Hahne	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1994	Year of the Family		Raphael Maklouf	Carolyn Rosser	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1995	End of WWII 50^th Anniversary		Raphael Maklouf	Louis Laumen Horst Hahne	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1998	Bass & Flinders Anniversary		Raphael Maklouf	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2000	Year 2000 Millennium Year		Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2000	Year 2000 Royal Visit		Vladimir Gottwald	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Centenary of Federation (variation of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms)		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: New South Wales Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Australian Capital Territory Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Queensland Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Victorian Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Norfolk Island Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Northern Territory Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Western Australian Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: South Australian Coat of Arms		Ian Rank-Broadley		Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Federation: Tasmanian Coat of Arms	Ian Rank-Broadley			Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2002	Year of the Outback	Ian Rank-Broadley		Wojciech Pietranik	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2003	Australia’s Volunteers	Ian Rank-Broadley		Vladimir Gottwald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2004	Student Design	Ian Rank-Broadley		John Serranno	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2005	Remembrance - 60th Anniversary of WWII	Ian Rank-Broadley		Wojciech Pietranik	Circulating
2005	Secondary School Student Coin Design Competition	Ian Rank-Broadley		Kelly Just	Proof and uncirculating
2006	Melbourne Commonwealth Games (x16 Sports)	Ian Rank-Broadley		Wojciech Pietranik	Uncirculating
2006	Queen’s 80th Birthday	Ian Rank-Broadley		Stuart Devlin	Uncirculating

$1 – STANDARD DESIGNS

Aluminium/Bronze - Composition: 92% copper, 6% aluminium, 2% nickel

YEAR	DESIGN	Obverse Designer	Reverse Designer
1984 1985 1992 1994 1995 1998 2000-	5 Kangaroos 5 Kangaroos 5 Kangaroos 5 Kangaroos 5 Kangaroos 5 Kangaroos 5 Kangaroos	Arnold Machin Raphael Maklouf Raphael Maklouf Raphael Maklouf Raphael Maklouf Raphael Maklouf Ian Rank-Broadley	Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin

$1 – COMMEMORATIVE DESIGNS

Aluminium/Bronze - Composition: 92% copper, 6% aluminium, 2% nickel

YEAR	DESIGN	Obverse Designer	Reverse Designer
1986	Year of Peace	Raphael Maklouf	Horst Hahne	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1988	First Fleet Bicentenary	Raphael Maklouf	Stuart Devlin	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1992	Barcelona Olympic Games	Raphael Maklouf	Margaret Priest	Proof and uncirculating only
1993	Landcare	Raphael Maklouf	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
1994	Dollar Decade 1984-1994	Raphael Maklouf	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
1995	Waltzing Matilda	Raphael Maklouf	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
1996	Henry Parkes Centenary	Raphael Maklouf	Wojciech Pietranik	Proof, uncirculating, circulating and silver proof
1997	Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Birth Centenary-Type A	Raphael Maklouf	Wojciech Pietranik	Mint mark and silver proof only
1997	Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Birth Centenary-Type B	Raphael Maklouf	Wojciech Pietranik	Proof, uncirculating, circulating and silver proof
1998	Lord Howard Florey Birth Centenary	Raphael Maklouf	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
1999	The Last Anzacs	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik	Mint mark and silver proof only
1999	Year of Older Persons	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik (sculptor)	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2000	HMAS Sydney II	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
2000	Victoria Cross Centenary	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik	Uncirculating only
2000	Olymphilex 2000	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik	Mint mark only
2001	Centenary of Federation	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik (sculptor)	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2001	Centenary of Australian Army	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
2001	80^th Anniversary of the RAAF	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Uncirculating only
2001	90^th Anniversary of the Navy	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Uncirculating only
2001	International Year of the Volunteer	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik (sculptor)	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2002	Year of the Outback	Ian Rank-Broadley	Elizabeth Robinson/ Wojciech Pietranik	Proof, uncirculating, circulating and silver proof
2003	Centenary of Women’s Suffrage	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Circulating
2003	Australia’s Volunteers	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik	Proof, uncirculating and circulating
2003	50th anniversary of the end of the Korean War	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
2003	Vietnam (For service)	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik	Uncirculating only
2004	150th Anniversary of the Eureka Stockade	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik	Mint mark and silver proof only
2005	Peace—60th Anniversay of WWII	Ian Rank-Broadley	Wojciech Pietranik	Proof and circulating
2005	Gallipoli	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
2006	50 Years of Television	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Mint mark and silver proof only
2006	Coloured Ocean Series (x 3)	Ian Rank-Broadley	Tony Dean	Uncirculating
2007	Year of the Pig	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof and Uncirculating
2007	Ashes Series	Ian Rank-Broadley	Vladimir Gottwald	Proof and Uncirculating
2007	Year of the Surf Lifesaver	Ian Rank-Broadley	Tony Dean	Proof only

$2 – STANDARD DESIGNS

Aluminium/Bronze - Composition: 92% copper, 6% aluminium, 2% nickel

YEAR	DESIGN	Obverse Designer	Reverse Designer
1988-1998 1999-	Aboriginal Elder and Grasstrees Aboriginal Elder and Grasstrees	Raphael Maklouf Ian Rank-Broadley	Horst Hahne (Sculptor)

[ Sales Catalogue | About the Royal Australian Mint | F.A.Q | Press Releases | Notice Board | Downloads | Employment Opportunities | Relevant Links | Sitemap ]

[ Privacy Policy | Copyright | Newsletter Subscription ]