The Royal Australian Mint is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Australia’s first coins, the Holey Dollar and Dump. The design of the original is reproduced on the reverse of a new $1 coin, first issued on New Year’s Day.

The original Holey Dollar and Dump were created as a solution to the shortage of coinage in the colony in the early 1800′s. Governor Macquarie authorized the issue of the colony’s own currency by punching the centers out of 40,000 Spanish Dollars. The pieces were then counterstamped with the outer ring having a value of five shillings and the center having a value of 15 pence. More information on the Holey Dollar and Dump can be found here, along with images of one of the rare survivors.

The 2013 Bicentenary of the Holey Dollar and Dump $1 Coin features a reproduction of the original designs on the reverse. The obverse contains the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II along with the current year date of “2013″ and the face value of “1 Dollar”.

As they have done in previous years, the Royal Australian Mint provided collectors with a special opportunity to strike the first Australian $1 coins of the year. Collectors are known to line up overnight to be part of the fist 100 to strike an Australian coin in the new year.

For 2013, a 13-year-old collector was reported to have camped outside the Mint for four days in order to strike the first coin. He has turned down an offer of $800 to sell the coin to another collector. The next 99 visitors to make a coin also took home a special prize and certificate.

With the Holey Dollar and Dump holding such an important place in Australian numismatic history, they have also been commemorated on other coins. Last week, the Perth Mint of Australia released a silver two coin set to mark the 200th anniversary. I have just received my set this morning. The coins are shown above.

Over the years, there have also been a number of other commemorative Holey Dollar & Dump silver coins issued by both the Perth Mint and Royal Australian Mint. It seems that many were issued for the occasion of the 175th anniversary in 1988. A subscription coin reproducing the original design was offered in 2003. You can see the range of previous offerings in these eBay listings.

The Royal Australian Mint has recently unveiled the 2013 Mining Proof Year Set and 2013 Mining Uncirculated Year Set. These products celebrate the history of Australian mining on 20 Cent and 1 Dollar Coins.

The RAM has released annual sets to represent various industries within Australia. In 2011, the theme was the Wool industry, followed by the Wheat industry in 2012.

When gold was discovered near Bathurst in 1851, the first gold rush in Australia began, which drew migrants from Europe, North America, and China. Mining would have an enormous impact on the country, and today represents a significant primary industry which constitutes more than 5% of Australia’s gross domestic product.

The 1 Dollar coin features a classic scene of a prospector panning for gold with the inscription “Discovery of Gold”. The coin is struck in aluminum bronze with a weight of 9 grams and diameter of 25 mm.

The 20 cent coin was what particularly caught my eye. It presents a partial view of modern mining equipment, which fits neatly with the circular shape of the coin. The words “Australian Mining” and the denomination “20″ appear within the design. Th coin is struck in copper-nickel with a weight of 11.30 grams and diameter of 28.52 mm.

I was curious about the mining equipment depicted, so I did some quick research and found that this is part of a trencher or rotating shovel. A rotating wheel contains buckets which continuously scoop earth and move it onto a conveyor system. Further information and an image of massive version of the digging machine can be found here.

The Royal Australian Mint offers a two coin proof set with a mintage of 25,000 pieces (product page), or a two coin uncirculated set with a mintage of 40,000 (product page). The sets are pricey for non-precious metal coins at AU$55.00 for the proof set and AU$20.00 for the uncirculated set.

In 2008, the Royal Australian Mint launched the first coin of the Inspirational Australians coin series. The coins recognize and celebrate individual achievements and commemorate Australians who have made an extraordinary contribution to society.

The annual releases have included the following:

• Mary MacKillop (2008) – The first Australian Saint who founded an order which established schools and charitable institutions devoted to the care of orphans, neglected children, the homeless, sick, and aged.
• Steve Irwin (2009) – A television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist known around the world.
• Fred Hollows (2010) – An ophthalmologist known for restoring eyesight to thousands of people and pioneering modern cataract surgery.
• Dame Joan Sutherland (2011) – A remarkable female opera singer who reigned over many international stages during a 40 year career.
• Sir Douglas Mawson (2012) – An Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic who was knighted for his achievements in leading the Australasian Antarctic Expedition between 1911 and 1914.

All coins of the series have been struck in aluminum bronze with of weight of 9 grams and diameter of 25 mm. Each is packaged on a themed display card with an illustration on the front and information on the person being honored on the back.

I have written about a number of these releases over the years, and it is always a pleasure to read and learn about the individuals being honored on the coins. I was so engrossed when reading about the Australasian Antarctic Expedition and the hardships and ordeals of Sir Douglas Mawson and his team that I felt compelled to order one of the coins. (Here is the Wikipedia recap of the expedition and a Flickr photo set.)

Although it is a base metal coin, it is sharply struck, semi-proof like, and mark free. The themed packaging also adds to the appeal.

Besides this particular coin, I also like the concept of the ongoing series. In many cases, themed series tend to focus on geographic regions, animals, or the lunar calendar. Even general commemorative series often focus on events, institutions, places, or anniversaries. This series focuses exclusively on individuals and highlights achievements from a broad range of fields.

I look forward to the future releases of the series and learning a little bit more about some other inspirational Australians.

Perth Mint New Product Releases on Monday

Australia’s other mint, the Perth Mint will release a number of new products soon. For those of us in the United States, the release will occur on October 1, 2012 at 12:01 PM Eastern Standard Time. At that time, you can start looking for the new products in the recent releases section.

The new releases include:

• 2013 Year of the Snake 1 oz. Silver Typeset
• 2013 Year of the Snake 1 oz. Silver Proof High Relief Coin
• 2013 Year of the Snake 1 oz. Silver Colored Edition
• 2013 Year of the Snake 1 oz. Silver Gilded Edition
• 2013 Year of the Snake 1 kg Silver Gemstone Edition
• Australian Bush Babies Possom 1/2 oz Silver Proof coin
• Animal Athletes Rocket Frog $1 Coin

The product which is most likely to sell out the fastest is be the 1 oz. Silver Typeset, which similar to last year’s product, will include four 1 oz. silver coins with different finishes. I will have a post published on Monday with further details and images of the products as soon as they are released.

The Royal Australian Mint has recently started accepting orders for their 2013 Kangaroo Series gold and silver coins. Three different options with limited mintages are available.

The reverse design begins the theme “Explorer’s First Sightings” with George Stubbs’ 1773 impression of a kangaroo. Botanist Joseph Banks had brought a kangaroo back to England and commissioned Stubbs to paint its portrait. The unusual animal quickly came to symbolize the Australian continent.

The available options include one ounce 99.9% pure silver coins in frosted uncirculated or proof versions. Each has a mintage of 20,000 pieces.

Also available is a one-tenth ounce 99.99% pure gold coin in proof. This coin has a mintage of 1,500 pieces and has a limit of two coins per customer.

These three coins can be found on the Royal Australian Mint website in the browse products section. Last year’s 2012 Kangaroo Series Silver Coins still remain available for sale in proof and frosted uncirculated versions. These coins feature the Mareeba Rock-Wallaby.

Although not listed on the website, the RAM’s printed catalog also includes two coins to be issued for the 20th Anniversary of the Kangaroo series. These coins feature the original kangaroo design by Horst Hahne which was used in 1993. Products include a one ounce 99.99% gold proof coin limited to 500 and a one ounce 99.9% silver proof coin limited to 5,000.