07 May 2019
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Royal Australian Mint has issued a new limited edition coin set to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 50 cent coin.
The coin set features the five different effigies that have featured on the dodecagonal coin since its introduction in 1969.
When decimal currency was introduced in 1966, the fifty cent coin was the showpiece of the new circulating coins. The coins were made of silver, round in shape, and featured the Commonwealth Coat of Arms.
In 1968 the Royal Australian Mint ceased production of the coins, as silver prices started to rise above the face value of the coins. The new coins, released in 1969, were dodecagonal (twelve-sided) in shape, and manufactured in copper-nickel alloy. The new coin shape differentiated the fifty cent coins more easily from the round twenty cent coins.
In the time since its introduction in 1969, the coins have borne five different effigies of the Queen, and a range of commemorative designs.
Royal Australian Mint CEO, Ross MacDiarmid said of the new coins: “This year Australia commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of Australia’s most distinctive decimal coin. The most iconic for its unusual shape, it’s the coin that has launched many into a world of coin collecting.”
The ‘2019 50c Uncirculated Coin Set – 50th Anniversary of the 50c’ is available in a limited mintage of 20,000, retailing for $65.00.
The coins are Australian legal tender and can be purchased from the Mint’s website or Contact Centre (1300 652 020).
QUICK LINK: An introduction to the history of coinage in Scotland
(images copyright Royal Australian Mint)
