Yahoo Finance Rare $1 coin warning as Aussies offered $9,000 pay day
There were millions of these coins minted, however, they are being sold online and falsely labeled as 'rare'.
Australians have been warned about a coin being sold online for thousands of dollars when it's worth nowhere near that amount. While there are plenty of coins out there that can fetch incredibly high price tags, there are many more that aren't.
Reports have surfaced about several listings for the 2020 Donation $1 coin on eBay, with prices as high as $9,000. But Mark Nemtsas from The Purple Penny, an Australian Royal Mint authorised distributor, told Yahoo Finance there's one reason why people are selling them for this much.
"Misinformation. Someone asking thousands of dollars for a coin worth a dollar doesn't make it worth more than a dollar, any more than me asking $1,000 for my half-eaten sandwich makes it worth a thousand dollars," he said.
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Some of the eBay listing promoting the 2020 Donation $1 coin as "rare" and they have price tags of $2,000, $5,000, and $999.
"A unique addition to any Australian coin collection, this piece originates from Australia and bears the iconic Australian imagery," wrote one seller.
However, 12.5 million of these coins were minted when they were officially released in 2020, and a further 12.9 million were produced the following year.
That combined number was supposed to represent one coin for every person in the country at the time.
Aussie expert Joel Kandiah, from The History of Money, ripped into reports that the coin was worth thousands of dollars, issuing a warning to his 85,000 followers that it only has a value of $1.
A Yahoo Finance investigation exposed the "darker side" of coin collecting, revealing numerous listings online with wildly over-inflated prices.
From a "$20,000 50 cent piece" to a $1 "worth $7,500", the coins were valued by Matt Thompson, of Thompson Coins, and debunked.
It's not uncommon. There was a similar warning about a 50 cent coin being sold on eBay earlier this year.
Coin collector Matt James Will said these were simply scammers trying to make a quick buck.
"$10,000 someone is trying to sell this coin for on eBay and I have two of them," he said. "There are many, many ads on eBay, $8,000, $4,000, $2,000...you name it.
"This coin is not worth that. It might be worth a couple of bucks...Not 10 grand. That is a scam."
What is special about the 2020 $1 Donation coin?
While it might not be "rare" in terms of its mintage, it does have a unique backstory.
It's billed by the Royal Australian Mint as "the world's first" one dollar coin designed to be donated.
It features a green centre with a gold ripple design coming from the centre on one side, which is meant to symbolise the "ongoing impact each donation dollar makes to those who need it most", as well as the phrase 'Give to Help Others'.
Donation Dollars have been distributed through the banks since September 2020 and there's an estimated six million currently in circulation.
It's meant to encourage Aussies to donate the coin to a charitable cause rather than hold onto it - if they have the means to do so.
After being released, the Donation Dollar generated an additional $55 million in incremental charitable giving.
The Mint said if every Aussie gave away a Donation Dollar each month, it could raise $300 million in one year.
“We know through our findings that the more aware Australian’s are of the Donation Dollar the more likely they are to go out, find one and donate one," Royal Australian Mint CEO, Leigh Gordon, said.
"We are reminding Australians of the potential positive impact. Like any other one-dollar coin, the cycle of a Donation Dollar is ongoing. So, with Australia’s support, we believe Donation Dollar has the power to make a real difference.”
Out of the six million that have been circulated by the Mint, nearly half have been found by Aussies in their change. The Mint hopes to keep releasing Donation Dollars until all 25 million are in circulation and have the potential to go to a charitable cause.
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