1966 Royal Australian Mint six coin decimal proof set in the...

Hammer

£85

1966 Royal Australian Mint six coin decimal proof set in the original blue presentation box. Includes (1) 1966 round silver 50¢ with Australian coat of arms, (2) 1966 copper-nickel platypus 20¢, (3) 1966 copper-nickel lyrebird 10¢, (4) 1966 copper-nickel echidnas 5¢, (5) 1966 bronze frill-necked lizard 2¢, and (6) 1966 bronze feather-tailed glider 1¢. Offered in the original case with 'COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA' on the lid. Composition: silver and base metal alloys. Mintage: 18,000. Grade: UNC - coins bright and uncirculated, hard to find without toning, but the coins in this set show very minimal evidence of this. Australia decimalised its currency in February 1966, replacing the Australian Pound with the Australian Dollar, subdivided into 100 cents. These collectable proof sets were issued to commemorate the occasion by the Royal Australian Mint, located in Canberra. The newly introduced coins featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin on the obverse, paired with new nature-inspired designs by Australian metalsmith Stuart Devlin on the reverse, excepting the 50¢ coin, which is an interpretation of the Australian coat of arms. Devlin won a competition in 1964 to design new coins of the Australian Dollar.