Australian Silver Coins
Posted on Sep 19, 2008 under australian silver coins |I first became interested in Australian Silver Coins as a child. My mother had quite a collection of round fifty cent coins. In fact, the collection started as her grandmother’s, whose interest was no doubt piqued by the introduction of decimal currency into Australia. I doubt she realised the significance of her collection when she started.
As it turned out the 1966 round silver fifty was the last circulated coin minted in Australia to contain silver. Rising silver prices drove up the value of the coins to above their face value. All other decimal coins and fifty cent pieces from 1969 (there were none minted in 1967 and 1968) have been made of copper, nickel and aluminium.
Many people are unaware of this and believe that decimal silver coloured coins continue to contain a significant portion of silver. The exception to this is of course collector Australian silver coins. These are specially minted coins that may consist of close to 100% silver. It is still very important to know exactly what you are purchasing though as the content will vary.
Australian pre decimal coins are a different kettle of fish. Australian pre decimal silver coins include florins, shillings, sixpences and threepences. Before 1946, Australian silver coins contained 92.5% silver. The Second World War caused an increase in the price of silver. The decision was taken to reduce the silver content of coins to 50%. Again there are exceptions that didn’t make it into circulation, including the 1951 cupro nickel Federation Commemorative Florin.
So as you can see, there are quite a few things to know about collecting Australian silver coins.
An excellent guide that anyone serious about their their collection must have is 2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000. It covers everything you need to know about individual coins and importantly, what they are worth.
It covers important information like mintage figures, metallic composition, precious metal weights, dates, historical background and nearly one million current values. Two hundred experts have contributed their knowledge to this great resource.
I really think this is the one must-have for those serious about building their Australian silver coins, Australian pre decimal coins or Australian decimal coins collection.
