The Australian five-cent coin is the lowest-denomination circulating coin of the decimal

Australian dollar The Australian dollar (currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar, dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official ...

introduced on 14 February 1966, replacing the pre-decimal sixpence. It has been the lowest-denomination coin in general circulation since the withdrawal of the one-cent and two-cent coins in 1992. Due to

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

, the purchasing power of the five-cent coin continues to drop, and as of 2018 represents 0.27% of the country's minimum hourly wage for workers age 21 or over. The coin was introduced into circulation on 14 February 1966. In its first year of minting, 30 million were struck at the British

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

(then in London), in addition to 45.4 million at the

Royal Australian Mint The Royal Australian Mint is the national mint of Australia, and the primary production facility for the country’s circulating coins. The mint is a Commonwealth Government entity operating within the portfolio of the Treasury, and is situat ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. Since then, with the exception of 1981, the coin has been produced exclusively in Canberra. In 1981, 50.3 million were produced at the Royal Mint's new headquarters in

Llantrisant Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the t ...

, Wales, and 50 million at the

Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint () is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mi ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, in addition to 62 million in Canberra. The reverse side depicts an

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

and the obverse side the head of state, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. The only commemorative coin in this denomination was issued in 2016 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of decimal currency. As of 2023–24, the 5c coin has the highest mintage of any current coins. The lowest mintage was 8.25 million coins in 1972, and the highest was 306.5 million in 2006. No coins were issued in 1985–86, however, only minted for coin sets. There has been some debate about removing this coin from circulation as with the

New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...

mainly as stated for its low value and high costs; however, there are still no confirmed plans to remove it. Royal Australian Mint chief executive Ross MacDiarmid estimate that, sometime in the second half of the 2020s, " twill probably cease to be used due to droppage of demand". In May 2007, owing to the high market value of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

, the

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

value of the coin was about 6.5 cents, though there were no reported cases of hoarding or melting down of the coins despite the apparent 30% gross profit to be made from doing so. Market prices as at June 2018 are about $7/kg for copper and $15/kg for nickel, making the metal content of the 5c coin worth only 2.5c or 50% of its face value (about the same as for a 10c or 20c coin). The

production cost Cost of goods sold (COGS) (also cost of products sold (COPS), or cost of sales) is the carrying value of goods sold during a particular period. Costs are associated with particular goods using one of the several formulas, including specific ident ...

of the coin was 12c in 2022. 5c coins are

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...

for amounts not exceeding $5 for any payment of a debt.

References

External links

Australian Decimal Currency
www.australianstamp.com

Coins from Australia / Coin Type: Five Cents
Online Coin Club
5 Cents KM# 80
coinscatalog.net {{Australian currency Five-cent coins Decimal coins of Australia Currencies introduced in 1966

See also

References

External links