The cent, formally the one-cent coin, was the lowest-denomination coin of the

Australian dollar The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Is ...

. It was introduced on 14 February 1966 in the

decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

of Australian currency and was withdrawn from circulation in 1992 (along with the two-cent coin). It is still minted as a non-circulating coin. One-cent and two-cent coins are legal tender only up to the sum of 20 cents (preventing large debts from being paid in small coins).

Description

From 1966 until 1984 the obverse featured the portrait of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Arnold Machin Arnold Machin OBE, R.A., FRSS (; 30 September 1911 – 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer. Life Machin was born Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china pai ...

. It was changed in 1985 to a version by Raphael Maklouf, which remained until its withdrawal from circulation in 1992. The reverse side of the coin features the image of a feathertail glider (''Acrobates pygmaeus''), a gliding possum unique to Australian states bordering the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. The image was designed by

Stuart Devlin Stuart Leslie Devlin (9 October 1931 – 12 April 2018) was an Australian artist and metalworker who specialised in gold and silver. He designed coins for countries around the world, and became especially well known as London-based design ...

, who designed the reverses of all of the original Australian decimal coins.

Production

The first issue (1966) was produced by three mints: 146.5 million were minted at the

Royal Australian Mint The Royal Australian Mint is the sole producer of all of Australia's circulating coins and is a Commonwealth Government entity operating within the portfolio of the Treasury. The Mint is situated in the Australian federal capital city of Canberr ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, with 239 million at the Melbourne Mint and 26.6 million at the

Perth Mint The Perth Mint is Australia's official bullion mint and wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Established on 20 June 1899, two years before Australia's Federation in 1901, the Perth Mint was the last of three Australian coloni ...

. With the exception of 1966 and 1981, all other one-cent coins have been produced at the Canberra mint. In 1981, 40.3 million were struck at the British

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury and is un ...

Llantrisant Llantrisant (; " Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, as well as 183.6 million in Canberra. The only year when it was not minted during its years in general circulation was 1986. It was last minted in 1990. The decision to remove the one and two-cent coins was confirmed by the Treasurer in a Budget Speech on 21 August 1990. The action was due to

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

reducing its value, and the high cost of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

. Around the same time other countries removed their bronze coins—New Zealand removed its one and two cent coins in 1990, while the United Kingdom and Ireland changed their bronze one and two pence coins into copper-plated steel. The one cent coin was produced as proof and uncirculated coins in 1986, 1991, 2006 and 2010 as part of mint sets. Other compositions were also used for 1 cent coins such as the 1978 (incorrectly listed as 1968 at Downies) specimen struck in aluminium or fine silver proofs in 1991, 2006 and 2011. After removal from circulation, the coins were melted down to make

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receiv ...

s for the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. In 2017, a limited edition ''

Possum Magic ''Possum Magic'' is a 1983 Children's picture book by Australian author Mem Fox, and illustrated by Julie Vivas. It concerns a young female possum, named Hush, who becomes invisible and has a number of adventures. In 2001, a film was made by th ...

'' themed coin set was released. A one-cent coin is included that shows Hush the Possum reading a book. In 2019, a limited edition Mr Squiggle friends themed coin set was released. A one-cent coin is included that shows Mr Squiggle.

References

* One-cent coins Decimal coins of Australia {{coin-stub