First collectable coin featuring King Charles’ face printed at Australian mint
Coin collectors have queued at the Royal Australian Mint to get their hands on the first coins of 2024, all featuring a major difference from years past.
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The first collectible coin featuring the face of King Charles III has been printed in Australia, as coin collectors rush to get their hands on the first coins of 2024.
The “Out Of This World” coin pays homage to Australia’s contribution to space exploration and includes references to the first satellite launch and Apollo 11 moon landing.
The gold coin is among some of the first coins stamped with the new monarch’s effigy, with 3.5 million $1 coins featuring his face entering circulation in December.
Hundreds of collectors spent the first day of the year queing at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra to get first access to the new coins.
The new batch of coins are slowly being rolled out across the country, with $2, 50c, 20c, 10c and 5c coins featuring the King’s face set to enter circulation progressively throughout 2024.
For most Australians, these will be the first coins they hold with the face of a King stamped on the back.
The coins were delivered to banks late last year and have already started appearing in cash registers across the country.
Assistant Minister for Treasury Andrew Leigh said the coins give Australians a chance to “get their own little piece of history”.
Other notable differences in the new coin roll-out is the direction in which the monarch is facing, marking a change of guard in the royal family’s leadership.
“Under a tradition dating back to at least the 17th century, successive monarchs face in different directions on the coins,” Minister Leigh said.
“Queen Elizabeth II faced to the right. King Charles III now faces to the left.”
The Royal Australian Mint will continue to print coins with the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Obverse until May 2024.
Originally published as First collectable coin featuring King Charles’ face printed at Australian mint
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