The Australian two-dollar coin is the highest-denomination 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 due to having a longer circulatory life.[1]
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.[2]
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 only been Queen Elizabeth II. From 1988 to 1998 the portrait of her was by Raphael Maklouf before being replaced in the following year by one sculpted by Ian Rank-Broadley.[3] Since 2019, the effigy of Elizabeth II by artist Jody Clark has been released into circulation.
Coins produced in 1988 and 1989 bear the initials of its designer, Horst Hahne, but they were removed from the design from 1990 onwards.[1]
All two-dollar coins have been struck at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. 160.9 million coins were minted in the first year of issue. It has been issued in all years since except 1991,[1] with an average mintage of 22 million coins per annum from 1989 to 2008.
The 2012 Remembrance reverse $2 coin.
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 Queen Elizabeth II, featured a purple circle bordering St Edward's Crown.[7]
As a part of the 100 years of Anzac Day 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 coin was issued on 22 August 2016.[8]
When the coin was introduced there were complaints that the coin was too small for its value and was easily lost, or counterfeited by placing two 5-cent pieces together and colouring them gold.[citation needed] 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 Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, the nation's capital. The only year without production was 1991 (due to the large number issued for the coin's introduction in 1988).[1]
Year
Mintage
1988*
160,900,000
1989*
31,600,000
1990
10,300,000
1991
–
1992
15,500,000
1993
4,900,000
1994
22,100,000
1995
15,500,000
1996
13,900,000
1997
19,000,000
1998
8,700,000
1999
27,300,000
2000
5,700,000
2001
35,600,000
2002
29,700,000
2003
13,700,000
2004
20,000,000
2005
45,500,000
2006
40,500,000
2007
26,000,000
2008
47,000,000
2009
74,500,000
2010
36,500,000
2011
1,800,000
2012
5,900,000
2013
35,100,000
2014
39,900,000
2015
22,000,000
2016
12,900,000
2017
16,400,000
2018
14,600,000
2019
IRB 9,000,000
JC 2,000,000
"*" denotes that coins were minted with the designer's initials
