This Commonwealth Games coin was the first Ten Dollar commemorative coin to be released by the Royal Australian Mint and
was issued in 1982. This coin, struck into sterling silver was produced in commemoration of the 12th Commonwealth Games in
Brisbane. The issue was produced in both
specimen
and
proof
with a total of approximately 200,000 coins produced. Industrial action at the time, meant that around 10,000 had to
be struck at a Melbourne company called Stokes and Sons, which specialised in button and medallion manufacture.
(Australian Threepence, 2013)
The only visible difference in these coins is the design of the box in which it was packaged.
The reverse of the coin was designed by Stuart Devlin in order to
represent the commonwealth games that was held in Brisbane in 1982. Central to the design is the three bands, which form
the logo of the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games. The logo is sat on top of a map of Australia and surrounding this is 12
images of figures in different positions, performing the different sporting activities that are competed within the games. The
legend
reads "XII COMMONWEALTH GAMES BRISBANE" and at the bottom the denomination "10 DOLLARS". The
obverse of the coin features the portrait of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as designed by Arnold Machin and the
legend
"ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 1982". The coins were presented in two different kinds of presentation case. One was a wallet
style sleeve and the other was a traditional flip open plush display case. The text featured on the outer packaging includes
$10 XII Commonwealth Games Brisbane 1982. Both the logo for the Brisbane Games and the coat of Arms of Australia is featured.
The 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane were opened by the Duke of Edinburgh, closed by Queen Elizabeth II and took place
at both the QEII Stadium in Nathan Brisbane and the Sleeman Sports Complex in Chandler.
(Wikipedia, 2013)
45 Commonwealth nations and territories participated in the Games and sports contested included athletics, boxing, cycling,
weightlifting and wrestling. During the Games Australia came out on top in terms of the number of both gold and silver medals
won but England beat them in the total number of medals won throughout the competition. The logo used to represent the Brisbane
Games was designed by Hugh Edwards, an Australian and winner of a nation-wide competition.
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