2014 Green Remembrance $2 Coin
This coin will also be issued in special collector packaging with a C mintmark and a mintage of 40,000.
Australian 2 Dollar Coin 2005
The Australian two dollar coin was introduced on 20th June 1988 replacing the $2 note that was withdrawn from circulation. As with the one dollar paper note, the $2 note had a short service life and replacement with a coin was very cost effective. The Australian 2 dollar coin standard design is that of an Aboriginal elder and was the only design used until 2012 when the Mint began a run of commemorative $2 coins, some with colour printing. In 2012 the Royal Australian Mint produced a Remembrance 2 dollar coin with a coloured red poppy design and also an uncoloured type. 2013 was the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation so a purple striped $2 coin was minted and in 2014 a green coloured 2 dollar coin, again for Remembrance, this time with a dove with an olive branch in its mouth and circular green stripes. Adding to this a red Lest We Forget ANZAC coloured 2 dollar was struck in 2015.
Australian 2 Dollar Coin Commemoratives 2012 (Remembrance) and 2013 (Coronation)
The $2 coin is smaller than the dollar coin at 20.62 millimetres but a fatter little coin with interrupted reeding on it’s edge. This width and the different reeding is to help those visually impaired distinguish the difference between it and the dollar coin. It’s comprised of 6.6 grams of 92% copper, 6% aluminium and 2% nickel.
The standard reverse design is of an aboriginal elder designed by Horst Hahne. Mr Hahne used his own adaptation of a drawing of an aboriginal elder, Gwoya Jungarai (1895-1965) nicknamed One Pound Jimmy depicted by artist Ainslie Roberts. The coin is not meant to feature anyone in particular, this was just the inspiration the designer used. For the first 2 years of issue only (1988 and 1989) the designers initials HH appeared on the reverse. For all other years following it was removed. The coin also features the southern cross and native Australian flora the grass tree. The obverse differs slightly with the varying effigies of Queen Elizabeth II over the years. It was first issued with the Raphael Maklouf effigy until 1998, then the Ian Rank-Broadley design from 1999 onwards.
Interestingly in 2006 the fine silver proof year set featured the $2 coin with the original Arnold Machin portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II celebrating 40 years of decimal currency. This was the only two dollar coin minted to feature this obverse.
If you’re checking your change you may notice some slight variations with the size of the font and the Queen’s head on different years. These are known as large head or small head varieties. Some low mintage years to look out for are 1993 and 2000.
There have been some counterfeit examples of the $2 coins found dated 1998, 2002 and 2003. On close inspection these are easily recognizable as fakes. The Queens hair and also the aboriginal elder design are clearly of poor quality and roughly designed. Remember trading these coins is against the law even if you are given one in change.
Australian Paper Dollar Note Obverse – 1972 Phillips / Wheeler General Prefix Catalogue Value Uncirculated $95 (McDonald’s 2014), easily purchased for $20 on eBay.
The Australian paper 1 dollar note was issued between 14 February 1966 and May 1984. A dollar coin was then introduced because of the short lifespan of the paper banknote. This proved a major cost saving for the Government.
The one dollar note is a dark brown coloured note with Aboriginal bark paintings on one side and Queen Elizabeth II and the Australian Coat of Arms on the other. It reads “COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA” on earlier issues (1966-1974). In 1974 this was replaced by “AUSTRALIA” on both sides of the note. Each note includes two signatures and a unique serial number. The brown colour was chosen as it was the same tones used in the 10 shilling pre-decimal note it replaced.
Paper $1 Note – Commonwealth of Australia / Australia Comparison
The signature and serial number on your paper $1 note will, along with condition, determine it’s value. Dollar notes were issued with the signatures of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Secretary to the Treasury. These were H.C Coombs-Roland Wilson, H.C.Coombs-R.J. Randall, J.G.Phillips-R.J.Randall, J.G. Phillips-F. H.Wheeler, H.M.Knight-John Stone and R.A.Johnston-John Stone.
The Aboriginal design is a line interpretation by Gordon Andrews of an Aboriginal bark painting by David Malangi. The then 39 year old indigenous Australian lived off the coast of Arnhem Land and was paid $1,000, presented with a medal of appreciation and given a fully-equipped fishing box for his contribution to the design on the $1 note. The illustration of Queen Elizabeth II in the Regalia of the Order of the Garter was again reproduced by Gordon Andrews from a photograph supplied by Buckingham Palace and taken by Douglas Glass of London. The note features a watermark, the profile of Captain Cook and a metallic security thread.
Australian Paper Dollar Note Reverse
Notes worth looking out for are special replacement notes known as star notes. These banknotes have the last serial number digit missing and is replaced with a * and occur on dollar notes issued from 1966-1971. These notes have been swapped for damaged, spoiled or faulty notes in a bundle and added so the numerical sequence of notes is not changed allowing bank tellers to easily count runs of notes. The serial of the star note does not correspond with the serial number of the note it replaced and always begins with a Z and for the 1 dollar note ZA. A star note commands a huge premium over the value of a standard dollar note.
Paper 1 dollar notes can be identified firstly by their signatures (see above) and then by their serial numbers. Serial numbers can be split into types, general prefix, first prefix and last prefix. First and last prefix notes which are the first and last issues of the series are always worth more than general prefix notes. Notes marked as specimens are also special issues and command a much higher price.
The value of your Australian paper 1 dollar note will depend on the factors already discussed in this article, signatures, serials and most importantly, condition. Once you’ve worked out which type of note you have you can determine whether it is best to take your note to the bank and swap it for a new dollar coin or keep it for collector value. The banknote market has been in decline over the past year or so it is best to check sales figures at coin and banknote dealers public auctions or sites such as eBay for what your note might fetch if sold.
Date IssuedSignatureSerialNumber of Notes PrintedStar Note SerialsNumber of Star Notes Printed
| 14 February 1966 | Coombs-Wilson | AAA 000001-AGE 210000 | 130,210,000 | ZAA 00001-ZAF 35000 | 535,000 |
| February 1968 | Coombs-Randall | AGE 210001-AHY 900000 | 37,690,000 | ZAF 45001-ZAH 17000 | 172,000 |
| November 1969 | Phillips-Randall | AHY 900001-BBE 999999 | 299,100,000 | ZAH 17001-ZAQ 100000 | 683,000 |
| May 1972 | Phillips-Wheeler | BBF 000001-BLG 770000 | 190,770,000 | NO STAR NOTES | NO STAR NOTES |
Date IssuedSignatureSerialNumber of Notes Printed
| 11 June 1974 | Phillips-Wheeler | BLG 770001-BYB 999999 | 210,230,000 |
| March 1976 | Knight-Wheeler | BYC 000001-CPJ 999945, DBP 000001-DBP 999999(1) | 219,999,945 |
| May 1979 | Knight-Stone | CPK 000001-DGH 999999(1) | 350,000,000 |
| 1983- 11 May 1984 | Johnston-Stone | DGJ 000001-DPS 9999956 | 139,999,956 |
(1)May 1979 Knight-Stone issue serials omits DBP serials included in previous release.
Reference
Vort-Ronald, Michael P.(1985) Australian Decimal Banknotes First Edition
McDonald, Greg (2013) 2014 Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes 21st Edition
Third party graded coins are proving increasingly popular with collectors, particularly those graded by PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service). For a fee they will grade your coin on the Sheldon scale of 1-70, with 70 being the highest grade achievable. Few coins will achieve the highest 70 grade and for a lot of denominations and dates it’s something that we’ll never see. For modern proof coins well-packaged direct from the Mint this is a possible grade if you search many sets to find the perfect coin.
Among near perfect PR67, PR68 and PR69 PCGS graded Australian decimal proofs stood some perfect examples graded PR70DC in the most recent Numisbid online auction and they wowed us with their realised prices. We spoke of the 1983 50 cent proof in a previous article but it’s worth taking a step back and viewing the broader results of these proof decimal coins. The proof 50c which sold for $3,403.50 was the standout but the proof 1 cent PR70RDDC sold for $900, the 5 cent PR70DC sold for $550 and the 10 cent PR70DC sold for $706, again bid up to a high level with competition. Compare these with denominations from the same year with a one point lower grade, a PR69DC 20 cent selling for $35 and the 2 cent PR69RDDC selling for $95. Looking broadly at these prices it’s clear the top grade is fiercely contended in a bidding situation.
And so it should be. As easy as it might seem to buy a set and get it slabbed it’s not that simple and often it will seem like pot luck that a coin makes a 70 grade. To look at those two coins in hand you probably couldn’t immediately pick the 70 grade. But the highest grade coin will be flawless with immaculate surfaces and strike and no spots, bumps or imperfections. Certainly a coin you want to keep.
It’s these top population coins that will keep you at the top of the PCGS set registry. What is the set registry? Anyone can join and add their PCGS graded coins to their sets on the PCGS website which will compare your sets with others. Collectors are always seeking to better their coins to increase their rankings on the set registry. It’s really just a higher class of the age old collecting advice “collect the best you can afford” then upgrade over time as you find better coins. Given you can’t be outdone by a coin in the top grade of PR70 it’s a great coin to get started with if you can afford it.
Australia 1983 PR70 50 Cent (Image courtesy Numisbid)
Australia 1983 PR70 50 Cent (Image courtesy Numisbid)
On the evening of 9 October 2014 on the online coin auction site Numisbid an Australian 1983 50 cent set a price record of $3,403.50. You can see the Numisbid images of the coin above. This is for a coin with a McDonald’s catalogue value of $5, from a proof set with a mintage of 80,000. The set itself has a catalogue value of $50 but in the real world 1983 proof sets can be had for less than twenty dollars. So, how, we hear you ask, does a coin sell for nearly 700 times catalogue value?
The answer is that the coin was graded by PCGS as PR70. The highest grade available for a proof coin. And at the time of the auction it was the ONLY proof 50 cent bearing Machin’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and dated 1984 or earlier. The PCGS population report at the time of writing showed 490 proof 50 cent coins dated earlier than 1985 and this coin is just one of those. Clearly a rare beast indeed! And given the number of coins graded to achieve this single PR70, likely to remain a rare beast for some time to come.
So why did someone pay this for a common date proof coin? Well, clearly they are dedicated and driven collector, and a strong supporter of third party graded coins, and PCGS graded coins in particular. And it wouldn’t surprise us if the buyer is a big player in the PCGS Registry Sets and that this coin had given them a lead in a number of different sets. Congratulations to the new owner of the coin, kudos to the person who had it graded, and well done to Numisbid for helping to achieve the record price.
Australian $1 Coins with Stamped Numbers
The most common question we get from readers of our Blog is something like:
Hi, I was wondering if a $2 coin with two ‘2’s printed/embedded on the heads side was worth anything? They are a third of the size of the normal ‘2’ on the coin
and
hi i just found a 1984 $1 coin (roos on the front) and on the back beside the queen is a big number 6 stamped on it. is this a legitamite coin and if so why the 6. i have never seen it before.
and
I have a $1 1994 australian coin and on the queens head side there is the number 5 etched/stamped just under her chin, which extends down to just above the date 1994. Is this an error or someone tampering with the coin?
and
I have a 1984 $1 mob of roos coin stamped with an S. on the bust side on the queens right sholder. I cannot find any info on the coin. Kind Regards.
and
Hi,I’m looking for information on the Australian 50 cent piece. I have one that has a “3” imprinted on the obverse side inbetween the date (1981) and the queens shoulder. Do you know anything about this kind of thing?
These markings are most commonly found on the 1 dollar coin but have been found on the 50 cent, 20c and 5 cent piece. The markings are always a number or letter stamped into one side of the coin. We are often asked how this has happened, what is it and is it worth anything? The number or letter appears to be stamped or punched onto the coin and has definitely been done after the coin has left the Mint and is called PMD or post mint damage.
Funnily enough all the ones we have found ourselves have been numbers stamped onto dollar coins and the font used is the same indicating they are from the same or similar source. It’s likely these coins have been marked to identify them again even though defacing currency is an offense. A possible scenario is the testing of vending machines.
In short whilst these coins with stamped numbers are interesting to find and I’ve often thought finding a whole set might be cool I could easily make these in my back shed with a set of punches and a hammer. They are not valuable and are still simply worth their face value but worth keeping as a curiosity if they strike a chord with you.
One of your authors (and two children) had the opportunity to visit the South Australian Maritime Museum on Lipson Street, Port Adelaide recently and as well as being very interesting, the displays included a number of numismatic items. Always keen to blog about something different we thought it would be worth sharing the items of numismatic interest with you, our good readers.
Great Britain 1723 SSC Shilling
Shown above is a 1723 SSC (South Sea Company) Shilling from Great Britain. These coins were minted from silver discovered by the South Sea Company in Indonesia that was then shipped back to Britain. They bear an SSC mintmark and show the portrait of George I. This one was part of a display on naval medical care, and in particular the improvement in health of sailors after the British Navy stopped fining sailors found to have venereal disease.
World War 1 Death Penny
Hidden away in a section of a museum that included a variety of items relating to the local area of Port Adelaide was this World War 1 Death Plaque of David Neil Willamson, a local Port Adelaide resident. These plaques, also known as “Death Pennies” were issues to relatives of British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in service in World War 1. They are becoming increasingly collectable because of the centenary of World War 1.
Bravery Medals
Above you can see three bravery medals that were awarded to one Henry Perry and some firefighters in 1910. They helped out when the ship South Africa caught fire and exploded, causing another explosion in a nearby torpedo station. This all happened in the Port River which is about 100 meters away from the Maritime Museum.
Shipwreck Pieces of 8
This small hoard was on loan from the West Australian museum and were recovered from the Gilt Dragon (Vergulde Draeck) shipwreck on the West Australian coast in the 1950’s and 1960’s. These “cob” type 8 reale coins are typical of the coins found on that wreck. They were minted in the Spanish colonies and used as a universal form of trade. The Gilt Dragon was a Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship that was wrecked on the journey from Holland to Indonesia.
Baudin Medal
Above is a medal minted to mark the voyage of Nicholas Baudin from Europe to Australia from 1800 to 1803. Most famously, in Australia, Baudin’s ship encountered the ship of naturalist Matthew Flinders in a rocky bay to the south of the future site of Adelaide. The bay was named by Flinders as Encounter Bay and is next to the south coast town of Victor Harbor.
Shipwreck Coins from the Dunbar
The museum had a number loose coins and tokens and an impressive encrustation of coins from the wreck of the Dunbar. The ship was wrecked at the entrance to Sydney Harbour in 1857 with the loss of all but one passengers and crew. The survivor was not discovered for a number of days after the wreck. Much of the population of Sydney traveled to the scene of the wreck to spectate and many of them found they had to help identify relatives, friends, and business associates who were among the dead.
Centenary of South Australia Medal
The medal above was found in the section of the museum that covered how the colony of South Australia was founded in 1836 and populated during the following periods of migration. Catalogued in Carlisle as 1936/1 the above gilt bronze medals were given to all South Australian school children in 1936, the centenary of the founding of South Australia.
Fundraising Badges
Found at various points through the museum were groups of tin, pin back badges that were sold for fund-raising purposes. While not strictly numismatic they are interesting because they were particularly popular in South Australia in the early part of the 20th century. “Tinnies” were used to raise funds for various events, including seaman’s unions and charities, returned military societies, and the ones above, for regattas held at Henley Beach in 1918 and 1919.
Convict Love Tokens
The last item of interest was a group of three ‘love tokens’ from the collection of renowned South Australian numismatist, Peter Lane. Love tokens (at least from a numismatic sense) are coins that have been smoothed on one or both sides and then engraved or carved by hand. The tokens are then given as a gift to a loved one. The tokens on display were of particular interest because they are convict love tokens, made by prisoners in early colonial Australia.
In Closing
The South Australian Maritime Museum is well worth the visit if you’re here in Adelaide. During the school holidays they have a daily historical (and quite entertaining) show to keep the kids amused for 30 minutes or so. Couple that with the excellent displays, a full sized sloop that can be explored from keel to mast-top, and a sprinkling of numismatic items on display and you’re sure to be kept interested for a couple of hours. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for the kids, and includes a visit to the nearby lighthouse and a discount for other local museums.
2014 Remembrance Coloured $2
The Royal Australian Mint have announced that we will soon be seeing another coloured 2 dollar coin, this time a green one! A Remembrance green $2 coin is being minted for circulaton to add to the ANZAC centenary coin program. The reverse design will include a dove with an olive branch in it’s beak inside a representation of the suns rays -a series of green coloured circular stripes. The obverse the standard Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
To be the first to secure one of these green Remembrance $2 coins the Mint is giving visitors to the Sydney ANDA coin show the opportunity to swap their change for a set of circulating 2014 coins when they purchase a 2015 coin set at the show held on 24-25 October 2014. We will be seeing more of these coloured coins in circulation so if you can’t get to Sydney then you might find one in your change later this year.
Last year we saw a purple coloured $2 coin celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation and 2012 saw a special RSL issue of a red poppy $2 coin.
This new green coloured circulation Remembrance $2 will also be available with a C mintmark in collector packaging with a limited mintage of 40,000.
2012 Remembrance $2 Coloured Poppy RSL Issue
2013 Circulating $2 Coronation Purple Stripe
vpcoins 1371 Logan Rd Mt Gravatt
Note: As of 2018 This shop is now permanently closed.
A few days away from a house full of children and a holiday to sunny Queensland found the Blog authors with little to do but eat fine food and drink beer. After about an hour of that we were drawn to an opportunity that doesn’t arise every day. To visit a brand new coin shop in the suburbs of Brisbane.
Staying on South Bank in the relaxing heart of Brisbane we decided it wasn’t going to be difficult to hop on a bus and travel to the new location of vpcoins just outside the city in Mt Gravatt. Brisbane has a dedicated Busway which allowed us to simply hop on the correctly numbered bus (170) in the city and “tap” our “go Card” and scoot through the Busway tunnels and lanes that took us onto the main road where vpcoins is located. A little way down Logan Rd we “tapped off” with our go card and we were at our destination before we knew it. We hadn’t envisaged it being as easy to get to so we were pleasantly surprised.
Having moved recently from a nearby shop, vpcoins is now located in a neat little shopfront on the main road, shop 1/ 1371 Logan Rd Mt Gravatt. We were presented with the tidiest and best presented coin shop we’ve ever set foot in with new carpet, fresh paint and smiling staff. Glass displays of mint product were on show as well as quality Australian pre-decimal coins and coins from around the world. Vic and Annette Power, the shops owners, were happy to show us their wares. You might know of Vic and Annette Power as their smiling faces are always present at ANDA (Australian Numismatic Dealer Association) shows held around the country during the year and Annette is the organiser for those events.
A trip to the vpcoins shop isn’t complete without venturing next door to Piefection who, we have got to say, have the best pies we have ever tasted. A Jack Daniels BBQ pork rib pie later and we were refreshed for the journey back into the city, bus number 170 again, couldn’t have been easier. If we had known that pie shop was there we probably would have made the trip just for the pie!
Being first timers braving public transport through Brisbane we were pleasantly surprised at the ease of finding our destination, so much less hassle than hiring a car and driving -and the new coin shop was a treat to visit. If you can’t make your local capital city ANDA coin show then visiting a great coin dealer in Brisbane, like vpcoins is a good substitute, as they can help you find that coin you’re after, provide a coin valuation, or buy your coin collection. They also house their coins in archival Saflips which gets the thumbs up from the Blog team! Vic and Annette also run periodic online auctions through their coin auction website.
vp coins
Australian Paper $2 Note Front Johnston/Fraser General Prefix -one of the last paper $2 notes issued into circulation
Your Australian paper $2 note value will depend on 3 things -signatures, serial number and condition.
There are 8 signature combinations of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Secretary to the Treasurer.
Serial numbers tell us more about your $2 note value depending on the prefix of the number. Serial numbers can be split into 3 categories, first issued or first prefix, last issued or last prefix and general prefix those notes in the middle of that production run.
Special paper $2 notes to look out for are those with a star or asterisk at the end of the serial number. These are star replacement notes and they replaced a note in a bundle that was damaged or soiled. These starnotes have a serial number prifix always beginning with Z. These paper banknotes have a value far in excess of their two dollar face value and are very collectable in any condition. Error paper banknotes can also be worth more depending on the error. These should be assessed on the individual error. Types of error banknotes include missing colour print, extra paper flaps and even mismatched serial number. Special issue specimen notes can be identified as being overprinted or stamped with the watermark “specimen” and are highly valuable.
Identifying the Australian paper two dollar note is easy. The front of the note features the Australian wool industry pioneer John Macarthur and a Merino ram. The back of the note features the father of the wheat industry William James Farrer with ears of wheat. The note is green, yellow and black and has “AUSTRALIA” or “COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA” written on both sides of the note depending on the era it was issued. The latter was written on the earlier issues and it was shortened in notes issued from 1974. The serial number and signatories are shown on the sheep side.
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 1966-1974, AUSTRALIA 1974-1985
The $2 note was issued on 14th February 1966 and last officially issued on 17th June 1988 after a total of 1,634,578,903 notes had been issued. At this time Australia minted it’s first $2 coin.
Notes at time of writing (October 2014): Now you can identify your Australian paper $2 note, what’s it’s value you may ask? We could quote you catalogue values but that’s doesn’t give us a great idea of actual value as the Australian banknote market is quite flat right now. Armed with the knowledge of the catalogue value and having identified what note you have, then take a look at sales history such as notes sold in public coin and banknote auctions and sites such as eBay for a real value you might achieve for your note if you sell it.
Australian Paper $2 Note Back
