After a period of over 70 years, Australia’s currency is getting a facelift, with images of the King to appear on Australian coins, within months.
The Royal Australian Mint released Coins featuring an effigy of the King on Thursday, which will start circulating before Christmas.
The dollar will be the first coin to bear the effigy, with other denominations to be rolled out progressively in 2024, based on demand from banks.
The official Commonwealth effigy is the image of the King. It was designed by the Royal Mint in London and granted Royal approval.
The King will appear on coins facing left in line with tradition, in an about-face from the reign of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who faced right.
Leigh Gordon, Royal Australian Mint chief executive said the question of when the King would be seen on Australian coins had been a frequent one since the late queen’s demise in September 2022.
He said that as Australia’s circulating coin manufacturer, they appreciate the importance of the transition, and were applying their considerable skill and expertise producing Australia’s coins bearing the new royal effigy.
He went on to say that the staff at the mint had been very deliberate and measured in the steps to date and that they were now well positioned to expand into production.
He stated that about 10 million of the dollar coins will be circulating by Christmas and that there was no plan to remove the monarch from Australian coins.
Assistant Minister for Treasury, Andrew Leigh said that the government had not wanted to rush the coin transition following the queen’s death in September last year.
The remaining denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins plus a $2 coin will be rolled out with the king’s left profile and without a crown during 2024, based on demand from banks.
The latest queen’s image wore a crown. In maintaining tradition, the right profile of the queen was displayed.
The 15.5 billion Australian coins that carry the queen’s image minted since Australia introduced decimal currency in 1966, will remain legal tender. She has been appearing on Australian money since 1953.
The government was criticized this year over a decision to replace the queen’s image on the $5 note with an Indigenous design rather than an image of the king.
Australia’s only remaining bank note to still feature an image of the monarch has been the $5 bill.
Critics saw it as part of a plan to replace the British monarch as Australia’s head of state with an Australian president, by the center-left Labor Party government.
Andrew Leigh, Assistant Treasury Minister said that for many Australians it would be the first time they had seen a different face on the currency. He said that Australians had seen a queen on their coins for seven decades, and that every decimal currency coin has featured Queen Elizabeth II.
He said that now, the King’s effigy will appear on an Australian coin for the first time since 1953 and that for the majority of Australians, this would be the first time they hold in their hands a coin with a king.
Thursday’s coin update came as the federal government continued to mull who will appear on our lowest denomination bank note.
Leigh said that although the $5 note still shows an image of the late queen, last year that was not automatic due to her status as monarch.
“It’s a conversation that will take place in government, there’s no rush about it,” he said at the time.
He said that the priority was now changing over the coins, which is a much larger operation.
Collectible coins that bear the image of the King will go on sale early next year.
All coins that carry the image of the late Queen Elizabeth remain legal currency.
