The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) and Parliament House celebrated a momentous occasion during the 2016 Enlighten Canberra festival, marking the first time a counterstamp has been pressed onto the obverse of an Australian coin. The small ‘C’ featured on this coin signifies the city of Canberra, with the “special souvenir” only available for purchase at Parliament House during the late night openings at a cost of $10.00 to stamp. The mobile press stamping the coins was available for public use over two weekends, commencing on Friday the 4th of March.

This uncirculated low mintage $1 coin commemorates the 50th anniversary since the introduction of Australia’s decimal currency; replacing pounds, shilling, and pence, with dollars and cents. The coin, which accompanies the 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, and $2 coins, marks the first time a specifically modified design has appeared on the obverse of Australian circulating coinage. The included designs appear below the Ian Rank Broadley (IRB) effigy of Queen Elizabeth, with the 2016 50th Anniversary Decimal Changeover coins also marking the first time alternative designs were ever applied to the Australian 5 and 10 cent coins.

The 50th Anniversary Changeover designs were created to reflect each pre-decimal coin, from the Penny to the Crown. This $1 design was adapted from the reverse of the Australian Florin issued between 1938 and 1963, depicting the original Australian Commonwealth Coat of Arms design expressing a royal crown seated above the six states represented on a shield with a golden wattle plant in the background.

With a total production of only 5,000 coins, as confirmed by the 2015/2016 annual RAM report. Not all 5'000 of these extremely limited coins were entirely stamped by the public, with the extras produced being distributed to authorised dealers.

Enlighten is an annual festival in Canberra, with some of the Capital's iconic landmarks and buildings illuminated by colourful architectural projections created by various talented artists. During 2016, the buildings illuminated over nine nights were Parliament House, Old Parliament House, National Library of Australia, The Questacon Centre, National Portrait Gallery, and the National Gallery of Australia.

Release: 2016
Mintage: 5'000