? The iconic first business strike half sovereigns struck at the Sydney Mint were dated 1855 and 1856. The 1855 is one of the key Australian rarities with considerable Australian and international demand. It is estimated that 50 to 60 examples survived the initial small mintage of 21,000 with most being heavily worn or otherwise damaged. A total of seven examples were found in the Reserve Bank holdings, auctioned off by Downies in 2005 with very few examples appearing ...
? During the years from 1880 to 1883, the Sydney Mint struck small numbers of half sovereigns that feature a crenulated reverse, typically associated with the Melbourne Mint issues. Very little is known about this variety beyond educated guesses and what has turned up. This variety has been sighted in the dates of 1880, 1881, and 1883 and is identifiable by a crenulated reverse with 147 rim denticles, as opposed to the standard issue which features an even beaded reverse ...
? The Type III five cent piece has been issued from 1999 and remains the annually issued type today. The type features the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth on the obverse and Stuart Devlin's iconic echidna design on the reverse. Devlin's initials can be found directly underneath the denomination . In addition to the large number of standard business and proof strikes a number of different strike types have been issued. From 2001, the Royal Australian Mint has intermittently ...
? In 1916 the Calcutta mint produced half pennies for Australia as neither the Sydney, Melbourne nor Perth mints were prepared to produce bronze coins. A very small number of 1916 half pennies were mistakenly struck with the obverse of an Indian one quarter anna though this was not discovered until June 1965 when Cecil Poole found one in Adelaide. The type of error is called a mule. The half penny mule can be identified by the lack of pearls in the crown of George V and an Elephant on the shoulder ...
? The Year of the Family 1994 commemorative fifty cent was issued to commemorate the international event. The reverse was designed by Carolyn Rosser and shows her depiction of a child's drawing of her family and their pet. It has the legend AUSTRALIA 1994 along with the denomination 50 cents. The obverse features the Raphael Maklouf portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II, right-facing, crowned with necklace and earrings. It contains the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 1994. It has ...