Yahoo Finance Rare $1 coin worth $50: ‘Hidden in plain sight’
Only 540,000 of the 206 Changeover $1 coins were made, making them a rare find.
It’s time to check your wallet and drawers, you could be unknowingly sitting on this valuable coin. An Aussie coin expert has revealed what makes this unassuming $1 coin “one of the rarest” you can find.
The 2016 Changeover $1 coin was released to commemorate 50 years since Australia switched to decimal currency. These are the dollars and cents we use today.
Perth numismatist Joel Kandiah, who goes by @thehistoryofmoney online, said the Changeover $1 coin was one of six commemorative coins made to celebrate the occasion.
RELATED
“While the reverse remains the same, the obverse features a smaller version of the Queen’s effigy and a depiction of the pre-decimal Florin,” Kandiah shared on TikTok.
If you’re wondering what a Florin is, it was a coin used in Australia before decimalisation in 1966. It was minted between 1910 and 1963 and was worth two shillings.
Kandiah said the Changeover $1 coin has been “extremely hard to find” because coin collectors are often keen to get their hands on coloured $2 coins and can miss it.
The coin also has a very low mintage of around half a million, making it a “rarity hidden in plain sight”.
“With only 540,000 minted, they can fetch for between $10 and $50 each,” Kandiah said, depending on the condition.
Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com
Why did Australia switch to decimal currency?
Australia switched from pounds to dollars on February 14, 1966, called Changeover Day or ‘C-Day’.
The National Museum of Australia said the currency change was a “pragmatic, economic one”. The Australian pound, like the British one, was divided into 20 shillings of 12 pence each, which made financial transactions “unnecessarily difficult”.
This had impacts on productivity with research showing decimalisation would save the Australian economy more than £11 million a year, which would quickly pay for the £30 million cost of conversion.
Get the latest Yahoo Finance news - follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
