Australia 1983 Koala 200 Dollar Gold Coin

Shown above is the 1983 $200 coin from Australia, struck to proof standard. These $200 gold koala coins were minted from 10.0 grams of 0.9167 fine gold (22 carat) which converts to 0.2948 ounces of gold. At the time of writing the gold content of this coin was worth about US$274 but you can check todays value using our Gold Coin Calculator. The obverse of the coin depicts the Arnold Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the British Commonwealth. The reverse depicts an Australian Koala sitting in a eucalyptus tree. The $200 gold coin with the koala reverse was minted in 1980, 83, and 84 with the Machin obverse and in 1985-86 with the Raphael Maklouf portrait of the Queen. It was struck in both uncirculated and proof versions each year. Mintages started at a high of over 200,000 uncirculated coins and 50,000 proof coins in 1980 slowly dwindling to 15,298 / 16,654 in 1986.

These are an interesting coin because it wasn’t that long ago that the best thing to do with them was to take them to a bank and redeem them for face value. The high issue price in 1980 ($240 for the UNC version), low bullion value and the relatively large mintage for such an expensive coin means that the opportunity for capital growth isn’t really there. It has only been in the last 18 months of high gold prices that the coins started fetching amounts well above the face value of the coin. Even now, 29 years later the coins are only just reaching the issue prices again. I know of people who bought 10 or 20 of these coins in 1980 because they were promoted heavily and it is sad to think that they are only just now looking like recouping their initial investment. Hardly the way to get rich! Still they are beautiful coins and lovely to look at in proof form. And barely cost a premium above their gold value. Certainly a fun way of holding the yellow metal!

Australia 1969 Yarralumla PNC with 1969 Specimen 50 cent

In the first part of the Australian 50 Cent Coin Value entries I talked about some of the more valuable circulation coins and the relative lack of value of the commemorative 50 cent coins. In this second part I’ll talk about some of the real rarities that you’d be staggeringly lucky to find in your change. Still, the coins exist and if you’re really really lucky you might find one. You might have a better chance of winning the lottery though, so don’t start counting your money just yet.

1. 1977 Coat of Arms Reverse – for some reason the Royal Australian Mint released a very small number of 1977 50 cent coins minted with the Coat of Arms reverse rather than the Silver Jubilee reverse. An EF example of one of these is estimated to be worth $4000.
2. 1975 Australian Obverse / Fijian 50 cent Reverse – I’ve seen some references to this coin, but I have no idea of it’s worth or even if it actually exists. The Fijian 50 cent was the same shape as our coin and the RAM actually minted Fijian coins in that year so I guess this could happen.
3. 1988 Coat of Arms Reverse – similar to the 1977 coin, some coins seem to have been minted with the Coat of Arms reverse rather than the First Fleet Bicentenary design. An uncirculated example of one of these sold in 2006 for $5400.
4. 1969 Specimen 50 cent. These were struck for the Yarralumla PNC. 1330 made it into envelopes and possibly others were put into circulation, it is unknown how many. An UNC version is worth $150.
5. 2000 ‘incuse’ Millennium – For whatever reason it appears that a single die run of 2000 Millennium 50 cent coins were run with a die variety. The cross on Union Jack in the Australian flag on the reverse is incuse rather than in relief as is normal. It is estimated that about 200,000 of these coins exist and they are worth $200 in uncirculated condition. Actually if you look for these coins you might be lucky enough to still find one. It wont be uncirculated but it will still be something of a scarce coin.
6. 2010 Rotated or Upset 50 cent.

That’s it for 50 cent coin values. There’s a bunch of NCLT issues of fifty cent coins that you might be lucky enough to find in circulation, and then there’s the ridiculously expensive gold 2009 50 cent coin but you wont find one of those any time soon!

Australian 1977 Silver Jubilee 50 cent

One of the most popular Australian coins to collect is the 50 cent coin. And one of the most popular question about Australian coin values that we get is of course, about what is the value of Australian 50 cent coins that can be found in your change. That’s because the 50 cent coin is big, it has been issued with many different commemorative designs since it’s release in 1966 and the large size of the coin means the designs really stick out when you receive them in change. Sometimes you’ll get a 50 cent in your change and you’ll turn it over and Captain Cook will stare back at you and you’ll either have never seen one before or not have seen one for years and you’ll think….how much is that worth? It must be worth something right? It was minted 38 years ago and you almost never see them any more! Surely an old Australian 50 cent coin is worth some money? After all, some of them are more than 40 years old now!

Well a lot of the time that fifty cent you don’t remember seeing before is usually worth…wait for…50 cents. Yes, 50c. Sad but true. See the thing is, a lot of these commemorative coins were minted, and when I say a lot I mean a lot. After all, they were intended to circulate so the Royal Australian Mint churned them out in their millions and tens of millions. The other problem is that the public at the time hoarded these things so there are tens of thousands of money boxes loaded down with uncirculated or near uncirculated examples of them. So sadly most Australian 50 cent coins are anything but rare. It’s worth having a look at the mintages of the commemorative 50 cent coins up until 2000 and the catalogue values of an uncirculated example (there have been a spate of them since then, and I don’t think it’s worth covering them). The mintages and CV’s are from the 2009 Pocket Guide to Australian Coin and Banknotes.

• 1970 Captain Cook Bicentenary 50 cent, mintage: 16,548,100, $7.00
• 1977 Silver Jubilee 50 cent, mintage: 25,067,000, $4.00
• 1981 Royal Wedding 50 cent (Charles and Diana), mintage: 20,000,000, $6.00
• 1982 Commonwealth Games 50 cent, mintage: 23,287,000, $4.00
• 1988 First Fleet Bicentenary 50 cent, mintage: 8,990,800, $15.00
• 1991 Decimal Anniversary 50 cent, mintage: 4,704,400, $10.00
• 1994 Year of the Family 50 cent, mintage: 20,830,800, $12.00
• 1995 Weary Dunlop 50 cent, mintage: 15,869,200, $7.00
• 1998 Bass and Flinders 50 cent, mintage: 22,426,000, $7.00
• 2000 Year 2000 Millennium 50 cent, mintage: 16,630,000, $7.00

So these are the prices you can expect to pay for an example of these coins. When you come to sell them expect considerably less. If your 50c coins are not truly uncirculated expect to get offered face value (though you may get a little more if you try selling them on eBay).

You’ll find that some normal circulation coins have much lower mintages than the commemorative coins, and the fact that they were not hoarded means they can be worth a little more. And before I get onto those, the 1966 round 50 cent is not rare and nor is it particularly valuable. It does have real silver in it though which is different to all the other 50 cent coins issued and makes it worth a bit even if it is a banged up circulated coin. So what is the round 50 cent coin worth? It depends on the silver price of the day. You could take a look at our Aussie silver coin value calculator to work it out.

Anyway, back onto the circulation issues. Truly uncirculated 50 cent coins from 1969 (cv $25), 1971 ($25), 1972 ($55), 1973 ($60), 1974 ($35), 1985 ($13), 1993 ($22) , and 1997 ($30) are all worth more than any commemorative 50c coin. In fact some of the mintages are small by comparison, the 1985 and 1993 coins had mintages of less than 1 million and may be worth putting away for the future if you find them even if they have been circulated. In, fact, these days hardcore decimal collectors are looking for the best quality uncirculated 50 cent coins they can find for their collections. So, if you do have a sparkling UNC 1973 50 cent coin you might get a bit of money for it if you list it up on an online auction site.

In the next issue of this series I’ll cover some rare and valuable 50 cent coins you can look for in your change. These wont show up too often but they are worth keeping an eye out for.

Other Australian Coin Values

Of course if you’re looking for the value of other Australian coins then you’re going to find some of our other articles helpful. You might find out value of Australian 20 cent coins article useful, or this one that talks about what Australian dollar coins are worth. We’ve even got a more general article about rare decimal coins you might find in your change. Of course Australia didn’t just mint coins, we’ve also produced banknotes and if you’ve got any old paper banknotes then you might want to find out what your old Australian paper banknotes are worth.