? The 1923 proof penny was originally struck to be part of a 6 coin proof set of the first year in which the Melbourne mint produced all denominations of Australian coinage to be presented at the British Empire Exhibition in London in 1924. The quality of the set was critical as this was the first time the Melbourne mint would have the opportunity to demonstrate that it could solely supply Australia's circulating coins, as with the imminent closure of the Sydney mint, a successful ...
? The 1911 penny marks the first copper coin struck for the Commonwealth of Australia, 10 years after Federation. It was produced at the Royal mint, London as the Australian mints were not yet ready to produce copper coins. Being the first year of Australian coinage, the mintage had to be high at 3.7 million to ensure that demand for circulating coinage would be met with sufficient supply. Consequently the 1911 is one of the more common dates of the series despite being the earliest. ...
? The seahorse is one of the more unusual species of fish found in the oceans off Australia. Its equine shape is so distinctive that it is often found in children's books and alphabet charts. Not only do they look unusual, they also swim upright which can lead to exhaustion and death, especially during storms. They have a small fin behind their head that flaps up to 35 times per second that propels them forwards . It is a popular and very cute fish that was chosen to be celebrated ...
? The Type I Shield sovereign features the Imperial shield design on the reverse paired with William Wyon's portrait of Queen Victoria on the obverse. It differs from the Type II Shield sovereign by the designer's initials, WW appearing incuse within the truncation beneath the bust. The design was introduced in 1871 but was changed to the normal WW type before the end of the year and by 1872 all shield sovereigns would have the normal WW on the obverse. The mint of this ...
? The Ian-Rank Broadley portrait of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II was introduced to the fifty cent in 1999 providing a more mature face of the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Other than this, the Type III Fifty Cent is identical to previous issues with Australia's coat of arms on the reverse around the digit 50. A number of different strike types were issued along side the standard business strike, specimen strike and proof strike. From 2001, the Royal Australian mint intermittently ...