Australian coins refers to the coins which are or were in use as Australian currency. During the early days of the colonies that formed Australia, foreign currency was used, but in 1910, a decade after federation, Australian coins were introduced. Australia used pounds, shillings and pence until 1966, when it adopted the decimal system with the Australian dollar divided into 100 cents. This article is about monetary coins. ... ISO 4217 Code AUD User(s) Australia, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island Inflation 3. ... £sd (pronounced, and sometimes written, LSD) was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the United Kingdom, and in most of its Empire and colonies. ...

First coins

For many years after the first Australian colony, New South Wales, was founded in 1788, it did not have its own currency and had to rely on the coins of other countries. During the early days of the colony, rum was sometimes used as a currency because of the shortage of coins. Capital Sydney Government Const. ... Caribbean rum, circa 1941 Rum is a distilled beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. ...

Spanish dollars were sometimes cut into "pieces of eight", quarters, and then into 2/3 and 1/3 segments, with the 2/3 segments (1/6 of original coin) being "shillings" and the 1/3 segments (1/12 of original coin) "sixpences". [1] In 1791 Governor Phillip of New South Wales fixed the value of the Spanish dollar to equal five shillings. Admiral Arthur Phillip (1786 portrait by Francis Wheatley, National Portrait Gallery, London) Admiral Arthur Phillip, RN (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. ...

Under the decree of 19 November 1800 by the governor Philip Gidley King the following coins were legal tender for the exchange value of: Philip Gidley King Naval pioneer and colonial governor Captain Philip Gidley King RN (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was an English naval officer and colonial administrator. ...

• Guinea = £1/2/- (One pound and two shillings)
• Half Johanna = £2
• Gold Mohur = £1/17/6 (one pound, 17 shillings and sixpence).
• Spanish dollar = 5 shillings.
• Johanna = £4.
• Ducat = 9/6 (9 shillings 6 pence).
• Rupee = 2/6 (2 shillings and 6 pence).
• Pagoda = 8/- (8 shillings).
• Dutch Guilder = 2/- (2 shillings).
• English shilling = 1/1 (1 shilling and 1 penny).
• Copper coin of 1 oz = 2 pence. ^[1]

The settlers did have some George III one-penny coins, which were referred to as "Cartwheel pennies". These were the first British coins to be officially exported to the Australian colonies, and so can be considered Australia's first official coins. They were dated 1797 and 1799, with Britannia on one side and King George III on the other. A mohur is a gold coin that was formerly minted by several governments including British India, the Moghul Empire, Nepal, and Afghanistan. ... The Spanish dollar or peso (literally, weight) is a silver coin that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. ... Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna, with a medial -h- included by analogy with the name Johannes or Johann. ... The ducat (IPA /ˈdʌ·kʰətʰ/) is a gold coin that was used as a trade currency throughout Europe before WW1. ... It has been suggested that History of the rupee be merged into this article or section. ... A pagoda at Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in China, Japan, Korea, and other parts of Asia. ... The gulden (sometimes guilder in English), represented by the symbol ƒ or fl. ... The shilling (or informally: bob) was an English coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first English shilling. ...

In 1812, Governor Lachlan Macquarie of New South Wales bought Spanish dollar coins, following the arrival of the ship Samarang at Port Jackson with 40,000 Spanish dollars, paying four shillings and nine pence for each dollar. He was worried that the coins would quickly be exported out of the colony and had holes cut in the middle of them to try to keep them in Australia. These were known as Holey dollars (valued at five shillings), with the piece from the middle being called the Dump (valued at around 15 pence). Both were declared legal currency on September 30, 1813. Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB (31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824), British military officer and colonial administrator, served as Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of... The Spanish dollar or peso (literally, weight) is a silver coin that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

British currency became the official currency of the Australian colonies after 1825, with almost £100,000-worth of British coins being imported during 1824–25. The Holey dollar was no longer legal tender after 1829.

Unofficial gold coins were used during the gold rush of the 1850s. Traders' tokens were also used because of the shortage of coins caused by the large increase in population. Attempts to make gold coins in Adelaide in 1852 failed because of the discovery of a die-crack. Australia's first official mint was in Sydney, founded in 1855. It produced gold coins with an original design between 1855 and 1870, with "Sydney Mint, Australia, One Sovereign" on one side and Queen Victoria on the other, or "Sydney Mint, Australia, Half Sovereign," before starting in 1870 to mint gold coins of British design. A California Gold Rush handbill A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ...

£sd

Main article: Coins of the Australian pound

Australia as a whole began minting its pound, shilling and penny coins in 1910. £sd (pronounced, and sometimes written, LSD) was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the United Kingdom, and in most of its Empire and colonies. ...

dollar

Main article: Coins of the Australian dollar

The Australian dollar replaced the Australian pound on 14 February 1966 as part of its decimalisation process. Coins of the Australian dollar was introduced on 14 February 1966. ... ISO 4217 Code AUD User(s) Australia, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island Inflation 3. ... The Australian pound was Australias currency from 1910 to 1966. ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Decimalisation (or Decimalization) refers to any process of converting from traditional units, usually of money, to a decimal system. ...

References

1. ^ Renniks Australian coins and their value 19th edition 2000. page 6.

• (2003) Chester L. Krause, Cliffor Mischler, Colin R. Bruce II, et al. (editors): 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901-present, 31st ed., Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-593-4. 

External links

• Cruzi's Coins
• Guide to predecimal coins
• History of Australian coins
• Australia's first coins - State Library of NSW