Sun and planets in Australian set
At the beginning of November, the Royal Australian Mint launched a series of 10 coins celebrating our solar system. The coins range in denomination from cent to $5 and come…
At the beginning of November, the Royal Australian Mint launched a series of 10 coins celebrating our solar system.
The coins range in denomination from cent to $5 and come presented in a pop-up book that contains information about the sun and each planet. It is the ideal Christmas gift for a younger relative that is showing an interest in science. The stylized reverse designs are by Aaron Baggio. Mintage is 10,000 sets.
The 10 coins are: Sun $5 (aluminum-zinc-bronze, 38.74 mm, 20.00g), Mercury 5 cents (cupronickel, 19.41 mm, 2.83 g), Venus 2 cents (bronze, 21.59 mm. 5.20 g), Earth (cupronickel, 23.60 mm, 5.65 g), Mars $2 (aluminum-bronze, 20.50 mm, 6.60g), Jupiter 50 cents (cupronickel, 31.51 mm, 15.37 g), Saturn $5 (stainless-steel ring, aluminum-bronze core, 28.00 mm, 10.60g), Uranus 20 cents (cupronickel, 28.52 mm, 11.30 g), Neptune $1 (aluminum-bronze, 25.00 mm, 9.00 g), and Pluto cent (bronze, 17.53 mm, 2.60 g).
The bimetallic design of the Saturn $5 is intended to represent the planet and its rings. The cent coin is just the second-ever change in the reverse design of an Australian cent coin. The first occurred with the Possum Magic issue in August this year.
RAM recognizes Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet.
This article was originally printed in World Coin News. >> Subscribe today.
More Collecting Resources
• Check out the newly-updated Standard Catalog of World Coins, 2001-Date that provides accurate identification, listing and pricing information for the latest coin releases.
• Start becoming a coin collector today with this popular course, Coin Collecting 101.
