In 2026, the Royal Australian Mint celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of Australian decimal currency by exploring six decades of our shared numismatic history.

Australia in the 1960s was a young country wanting to assert itself on the world stage. The changeover to decimal currency was a symbolic and practical part of this. The government’s public education campaign, with the adorable cartoon character “Dollar Bill”, helped Australians make the changeover on 14 February 1966 without a hitch. While Stuart Devlin’s iconic and enduring circulating coin designs remain a timeless testament to this aspirational endeavour.

Since then the Mint and Australian coins have adapted to the changing times and requirements. The original round, and 80 per cent silver, 50c coin was updated to cupronickel and given its distinctive 12 sided dodecagon shape from 1969. The $1 coin was introduced in 1984, followed by the $2 coin in 1988. While the 1c and 2c coins were withdrawn from circulation in 1992.

Of the billions of coins released into circulation by the Mint, some have become highly collectable, including the elusive 1966 ‘wavy baseline’ 20c coin and the even rarer 2000-year dated $1/10c mule. While many of the one hundred plus commemorative coin designs released into circulation, including the iconic 2012 $2 red poppy coin, have engaged and delighted generations of Australians.