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Australia 1964 Penny

2004 Silver Proof One Dollar

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After much debate Australia shifted to a decimal currency in 1966. In 1964 the final issue of the famous kangaroo reverse pennies were struckbefore the shift. The Royal Australian Mint has commemorated fifty years since the final penny was struck by releasing this 2004 dollar piece. The reverse features the copper centre with the Kruger Gray design used on the 1964 penny. This copper internal piece is surrounded by an outer silver ring with the legend "1911 - 1964" and small effigies of the three monarchs featured on the penny and the reverse design used before the introduction of the Kangaroo design. The obverse also features a copper inner with the obverse found on the 1964 penny. The outer silver ring contains a small Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II with the legend "ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2004" and the denomination "1 DOLLAR."

The piece was released as part of the subscription dollar series which ran yearly between 1996 and 2011 with the exception of 2001. The subscription series was distinct from others as each issue was made to order. This meant that the total mintage was limited to the number of orders that had been made in advance of mintage. The series commemorated Australian numismatic history with a number of significant designs being re-struck as well as coins celebrating milestones such as a century of Australian coinage.

The Australian pound came into being in 1910 and lasted until 1966. The currency was awkward, with each pound being subdivided into 20 shillings each of 12 pence. In the 1950s the economic importance of switching to a decimal currency became heavily discussed. The key argument was that the pound made financial transactions unnecessarily difficult, it was calculated that this difficulty caused the loss of more than £11 million to the Australian economy every year. After much political debate the 14th of February 1966 was chosen as Changeover Day - when the new Australian decimal dollar took over.