Australia Money Trivia

1. The royal Australian Mint opened on Monday 22nd February 1965.

2. Decimal currency was introduced on the 14th February 1966.

3. The royal Australian Mint only produces the coins we use the notes are printed by Note printing Australia in Melbourne.

4. The only coins released for decimal currency in 1966 were the 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, and the 50c piece.

5. The first $1 coin was released in 1984.

6. The first $2 coin was released in 1988.

7. All the silver coins are made with Cupro Nickel and the gold coins are made with Aluminium Bronze.

8. 1c and 2c coins were taken out of circulation starting in 1992, to this day you can still use these coins for purchases.

9. Did you know the currency act stipulates that there is a limit to the number of coins that you can give to a store for example; you should only give a maximum of $5 in 5c, 10c, 20c, & 50c. and should only give a maximum of 10 x $1, $2, $5 notes and $10 notes at any one time. You can give any amount of $20, $50 and $100 notes.

10. Australian coins have had 5 different portraits of the queen.

11. Australia's rarest coin is the 1930 penny only six proof versions are known to exist 3 by private collectors and also 3 in museums in Victoria, South Australia. In 1998 a privately owned 1930 penny was sold for $225,000

12. Australia use of the term Dollar was approved in 1963. Other names considered were royal, merino and austral.

13. In Australia in 1901 the following denominations were considered legal; Farthing (quarter penny), Halfpenny, Penny, Threepence, Sixpence, Shilling, Florin (two shillings), Half Crown, Crown (five shillings), Half Sovereign (half pound), Full Sovereign (one pound), 10 shillings, 1 pound, 5 pounds and 10 pounds.