For most of us, the idea of carrying loose change in our pockets has moved from being handy for parking, to an annoyance that makes you only want to use your card. However, that change takes on a whole new meaning when you consider that some of the best rare Australian coins in Australian history are both collectable and highly valuable.
The coin-collecting market has been hot in recent years but has been supercharged following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, with several coins from the Royal Australian Mint that celebrated her Coronation and Platinum Jubilee skyrocketing in value.
With the coronation of King Charles III in May of 2023 and the updated currency already being circulated, rare Australian coins depicting Queen Elizabeth II have continued to rise in value, while the first coins depicting King Charles III have established an entirely new collecting market.
One of the other drivers of the increase in interest in coin collecting has been a Perth teacher by the name of Joel Kandiah, who has amassed a huge following of more than 131,000 followers on TikTok (@thehistoryofmoney) and 86,000 followers on Instagram (@thehistoryof_money). As a confessed numismatist and coin-noodler, he’s been collecting coins for nearly three decades and has taken to the platforms to educate his followers on the intricacies of collecting coins and the most valuable coins to look out for.
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Because while you think finding a valuable coin or two the next time you pay for your coffee with a note is easy, they’re rarer than you might think. Of the 15 billion coins that were minted during the 70 years of the Queen’s reign, just 1%-5% of those are considered rare or special.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of the best rare Australian coins to keep an eye out for. Decimal currency might not be as practical or convenient as it once was, but that doesn’t mean some coins aren’t more valuable than they’ve ever been.
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$2 Coins
2012 Red Poppy $2 Coins
Why It’s Special: You’ve probably seen one of these red poppy coins before, as a two-dollar coin with a flash of red on its surface that was released to commemorate Remembrance Day. Released in two versions both without a mintmark and with a ‘C’ mintmark, the circulation of the red poppy coin was never very large, making folks hot for these two-dollar coins.
Mintage: 503,000
Market Price: “They are selling for between $150 and $370.” Mr Kandiah explained in an interview.
2013 Purple Coronation $2 Coin
Why It’s Special: The 2013 Purple Coronation 2-dollar coin was the very first time that the Royal Australian Mint released a coloured coin, with a distinct purple stripe on its surface. These rare coins have also seen an absolutely crazy jump in interest following the Queen’s passing, with the two coins we’ve just mentioned enjoying a hefty combined price.
Mintage: 995,000
Market Price: “Its value has shot up to $75 to $180,” Kandiah said in the same interview.
2015 Lest We Forget $2 Coin
Why It’s Special: “This coin was made to commemorate the centenary of the landing at Gallipoli,” says Kandiah in a post. “This coin is full of powerful imagery, with LEST WE FORGET in the middle, surrounded by a red circle.”
Mintage: 1.46 million
Market Price: $20 to $50
2008 or 2009 Double Struck $2 Coins
Why It’s Special: In a break from coins linked specifically to the Royal Family, another corner of collecting rare currency is what is known as “double-struck” coins, where the coin has been stamped twice. Because of the rarity of these coins slipping through the Mint’s control processes, they command a hefty price.
Mintage: Unknown, but very rare.
Market Price: Up to $3,000
$1 Coins
2000 $1/10c Mule
Why It’s Special: “A batch of $1 dollar coins from the year 2000 had been mistakenly produced using the incorrect obverse die (the heads side) and subsequently entered circulation,” says Kandiah in an Instagram post. “Astonishingly, this error went unnoticed for a year or two.
“Distinguishing a 2000 $1 / 10 cent mule from a regular $1 coin is relatively straightforward. The smaller 10 cent die results in a pronounced double rim around the obverse of the coin.”
Mintage: Estimated between 6,000 and 7,000.
Market Price: $300 to $3,500
2002 Year of the Outback “Coloured Proof” $1 Coin
Why It’s Special: Designed by Elizabeth Robinson and Wojciech Pietranik, this coin was released in an uncirculated pack of six coins and is made special thanks to the blue and red colours printed across the map of Australia.
“It is a very common coin, with 34 million of them minted, however, there is a coloured version in the mint proof set,” explains Kandiah in a video.
Mintage: 39,513 (34 million of the non-coloured version)
Market Price: $80 to $460
2016 Changeover $1 Coin
Why It’s Special: The 2016 Changeover $1 coin was released to commemorate 50 years since Australia switched to decimal currency, featuring a regular tails side, but a heads side with a smaller effigy of the Queen and a depiction of the pre-decimal Florin.
“This is one of the rarest $1 coins you can find,” Kandiah says, “it was one of six commemorative coins (released) to celebrate the occasion.”
Mintage: 540,000
Market Price: $10 to 135
50c Coins
2022 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 50c Coin
Why It’s Special: Released last year to celebrate 70 years on the throne of Queen Elizabeth II, this coin was uncirculated and originally retailed for $12.50, but remains one of the most collectable new rare Australian coins.
Mintage: 70,000
Market Price: $70 to $100
2000 Millennium ‘Recessed’ 50c Coin
Why It’s Special: To mark the turn of the millennium, a 50c coin bearing the Australian flag was released, however, while most had the central cross on the flag raised, a small number had the central cross recessed as well as larger and smoother stars. “200,000 of those (16.6 million coins) have a rare error,” explained Kandiah, giving you a good reason to keep an eye out for one.
Mintage: 200,000 (out of 16.6 million total)
Market Price: $50 to $800
1985 50c Coin
Why It’s Special: In 1985 the Royal Mint announced a new effigy of the late Queen Elizabeth II, which was the second portrait of the Queen to be featured on an Australian 50c coin. It was produced in a low mintage, making it both historically important and the rarest 50c coin.
Mintage: 1,000,000
Market Price: $10 to $30
2012 Hyper-Metallic Coat of Arms 50c Coin
Why It’s Special: This remarkable-looking coin was released in 2012 in a part of a Six Coin Uncirculated Set and features colours on the Australian coat of arms.
“This is one of the most valuable 50c coins to exist,” says Kandiah, describing it as, “an absolutely striking piece of art.”
Mintage: 58,554 (uncirculated and only sold in Royal Australian Mint collector sets)
Market Price: $200 to $300
20c Coins
1966 Wavy Baseline 20c Coin
Why It’s Special: This is one of the rarest Australian coins there are, and one that’s understood to be very valuable. “Turn (a 1966 20c coin) over to the tails side and look at the bottom of the number ‘2’,” says Kandiah in a post about the coin. “At the top of the base, if it’s wavy, you’re going to be in the money.”
As the decimal currency we know today was first introduced in 1966, it’s believed the “wavy” variation could be an early pressing error.
Mintage: Unknown, but very rare.
Market Price: $180 to $3,500
5c Coins
2007 Double-Headed Australian 5 Cent Coin
Why It’s Special: “A 2007 5c coin with two heads! Unbelievable! [They’re] very hard to come across because the mint processes are so stringent now, to find error coins in this day and age is incredible,” explains Kandiah about these rare coins. If you spot one, you could be in the money.
Mintage: Unknown, but very rare.
Market Price: $3,000
Coin Collector Sets
2019 “Effigies Over Time” 6-Coin Collector Set
Why It’s Special: Another set of rare Australian Coins coins linked to our late Monarch is the “Effigies Over Time” set, which includes all six Australian coins with different depictions of the Queen’s effigy as it evolved from 1953 to 2019.
Mintage: 14,736
Market Price: $250 to $1,000
2019 50th Anniversary Of The Dodecagon 50c Coin Pack
Why It’s Special: This uncirculated coin pack was released in 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of the famed dodecagon-shaped coin, featuring a genuine gold-plated 50c coin and the five different effigies of Queen Elizabeth II featured since 1969.
“Each of the coins are dated 2019, so it’s strange seeing different effigies with that date,” says Kandiah about the set.
Mintage: 20,000
Market Price: $150 to $500
Overrated Rare Australian Coins
According to Joel Kandiah, there are a couple of rare Australian coins that didn’t deserve to be brought to life, as revealed in a recent interview on the Hamish & Andy Podcast. When asked by Andy Lee which he thought were the worst commemorative special edition coins, he named two specifically.
2011 Uncirculated Royal Wedding 50c Coin
Why It Isn’t Special: Created to mark the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Royal Australian Mint’s renowned coin sculptor Vladimir Gottwald designed a trio of coins that depicted the couple.
“In 2011 there was a coin to commemorate Catherine and Will’s wedding,” explained Kandiah. “The coin itself has probably been derided the most by the numismatic community.”
“It looked nothing like them. It was just this weird outline that lacked detail, like some scary ghost kind of picture.”
Despite the community consensus on the coin, the Royal Australian Mint explained the coin went through a, “highly consultative approval process with Her Majesty The Queen.”
Mintage: Uncirculated
Market price: $30
2010 The Australian Taxation Office Centenary 1910-2010 20c Coin
Why It Isn’t Special: One of the least desirable commemorative edition coins is The Australian Taxation Office Centenary 20c coin, which was minted in 2010 to celebrate 100 years of the ATO. Featuring the inscription “WORKING FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS”, it’s far from a popular coin among collectors.
“One of the worst ones I’ve seen is the 100 Years Of The Tax Office,” Kandiah explained, before joking, “And they take 30% off the end of it.”
Mintage: 11.6 million
Market price: $3 to $10 (for carded special release originally given to ATO staff)
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