The Australian two-dollar coin is the highest-denomination circulating coin of the Australian dollar. It was first issued on 20 June 1988, having been in planning since the mid-1970s. It replaced the

Australian two-dollar note The Australian two-dollar note was introduced in 1966 due to decimalisation, to replace the £1 note which had similar green colouration. The note was issued from its introduction in 1966 until its replacement by the two-dollar coin in 1988. ...

due to having a longer circulatory life. The only "mint set only" year was 1991. $2 coins are legal tender for amounts not exceeding 10 times the face value of the coin for any payment of a debt.

Design

In accordance with all other Australian coins, the obverse features the portrait of the reigning monarch, who during the lifetime of the coin has primarily been

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. ...

. From 1988 to 1998 the portrait of her was by

Raphael Maklouf Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth nations. Maklouf was born in Jerusalem, to a Jewish family; his father was Sa ...

before being replaced in the following year by one sculpted by

Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley Royal British Society of Sculptors, FRBS (born 1952) is a British sculpture, sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage and the Statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, memor ...

. Since 2019, the effigy of Elizabeth II by artist Jody Clark has been released into circulation. In 2024, following the death of

in 2022, coins with a new obverse featuring the portrait of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

entered general circulation. Designed by Horst Hahne, the reverse depicts what is meant to be an

archetype The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...

of an

Aboriginal elder Australian Aboriginal elders are highly respected people within Australia and their respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An elder has been defined as "someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and ...

. The drawing was based on Ainslie Roberts' drawing of Gwoya Tjungurrayi, also known as "One Pound Jimmy", a Warlpiri-

Anmatyerre The Anmatyerr (also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages. Language Anmatyerr is divided into Eas ...

man of the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. Tjungarrayi was one of the few survivors of one of the last recognised massacres of

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

by the British – the 1928

Coniston massacre The Coniston massacre, which took place in the region around the Coniston (Northern Territory), Coniston cattle station in the territory of Central Australia (territory), Central Australia (now the Northern Territory) from 14 August to 18 Octo ...

in what was then the territory of Central Australia. The design also incorporates the

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

and native grasstrees. Coins produced in 1988 and 1989 bear the initials of its designer, Horst Hahne, but they were removed from the design from 1990 onwards. All two-dollar coins have been struck 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 ...

. 160.9 million coins were minted in the first year of issue. It has been issued in all years since except 1991, with an average mintage of 22 million coins per annum from 1989 to 2008. In 2012, the Australian mint released the first ever different designed two-dollar coin. It features a poppy flower, with the words ''Lest we Forget'' and ''Remembrance Day'' in the background of the coin. There had been no commemorative designs for this issue, until the 2012 Remembrance coin was minted. Along with the 2012 Remembrance coin was a coin with the same text and image but the centre poppy was red with a black centre. It was therefore the first coloured circulating coin in Australia. On 21 June 2013, a third commemorative two-dollar coin was launched by the Royal Australian Mint. This coin, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the coronation of

, featured a purple circle bordering

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the coronation crown of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13t ...

. As a part of the 100 years of

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

a coin programme launched by the Royal Australian Mint, two separate coloured coins were released. The first was released in 2014, it featured two green circles in the middle of the coin and a dove in the centre. The word ''Remembrance'' was stretched across the top of the coin. In 2015, the fourth circulating coloured coin in Australia was released. It includes red stripes much like the 2013 Queen Coronation coin. It also features five crosses amongst poppies and the words ''Lest we Forget'' in the centre. A fifth coin was also released in 2015. It is sunset orange and it features a sun in the centre with birds and the Flanders Field poem in the background. In 2016 a commemorative coin was issued for the Rio Olympic Games. Five Coins were issued for circulation via Woolworths and were made available in packs of the 5 coins on 27 July 2016. A

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

coin was issued on 22 August 2016. The size of the $2 coin was decided after much consideration of the most appropriate size and thickness, as well as security considerations (that could not be imitated by previously-existing coins such as the 5c). However, with an uninterrupted milling on the 5-cent, and the 2 dollars having 5 grooves in 4 lots separated by 7 mm length of the side, identification is easy. It has the same size and milling as the 10 Swedish kronor. Its smaller size in comparison to the $1 coin can lead to confusion for visitors from outside Australia.

Minting figures

The coin has only been struck at the

, the nation's capital. The only year without production was 1991 (due to the large number issued for the coin's introduction in 1988).

Commemorative coins

References

External links

coins price guide and values - Decimal coins

{{Australian currency Currencies introduced in 1988 Decimal coins of Australia Two-base-unit coins

Design

Minting figures

Commemorative coins

See also

References

External links