Collectable Commemorative Coins Quiz

Answer: Merino ram's head

Before the introduction of decimal currency in 1966, the one-shilling piece also featured a merino ram's head. The ram is representative of Australia's farming industry, upon which the nation was built.

Answer: Portrait of Captain Cook and Australia's east coast

Captain Cook landed at Botany Bay after he first sighted Australia in 1770. He sailed up the East coast naming bays and mountains until they hit the Great Barrier Reef. Cook was forced to beach his ship in a river he named the Endeavour (of course) until a hole in the hull could be repaired.

Answer: Commonwealth Games

During September and October of 1982, Brisbane hosted athletes from forty-six nations at the XII Commonwealth Games. Matilda, the giant motorised kangaroo, featured in the opening and closing ceremonies. While the officials lauded the idea, many Aussies (me included) cringed when she made her appearance.

Answer: Sir Edward Dunlop

Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop was chosen to represent the many heroes of the second World War. "Weary" was a doctor who worked with the Australian troops captured by the Japanese in Singapore. While prisoners, the troops were forced to build a railway from Burma to Thailand, and many would have perished in the conditions if not for the tireless work of "Weary" Dunlop.

Answer: Portrait of Arthur Phillips

The first fleet, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in Botany Bay January 1788. The site was unsuitable so the fleet landed in Port Jackson where Sydney was established.
The coin, designed by Michael Tracey and released in 1988, features a tall ship, a map of Australia, the southern cross and a compass.

Answer: Stylised Australian flag

This coin has a stylised Australian flag with "Millennium Year" printed to the side. If you are a collector, try to find an incused coin. The incused variety of coins were meant for collector sets, but none were struck. It was later revealed that around 200,000 coins were struck with the incused design and released into general circulation.

These coins therefore have the potential to be a rarity in the future.

Answer: Double bar behind the Emu

The double bar refers to two lines that form part of the reef design behind the emu's head. While the fault is most prominent in the 1979 and 1980 coins, it can also be see very faintly on the 1966 round coin. The lines were thought to cause fractures in the coin, so the lines were ground off the dies and are therefore no longer seen on subsequent mintages. The 1966 coins were minted in London and shipped to Australia.
Coins with the double bar are quite difficult to find, so if you have one, send it to me!

Answer: 10

The set includes a Commonwealth federation coin with the badges of the individual states arranged in the shield. The six states and two territories have coins featuring their coat of arms, as does Norfolk Island, making a total of ten coins in this set.

Answer: Bass, Flinders and the strait

When European explorers originally discovered Australia, they thought Tasmania was joined to the mainland. Bass and Flinders travelled through the strait on their ship the "Norfolk" in 1798 and Flinders named the passage "Bass Strait" in honour of his colleague. Bass and Flinders feature on the design along with a small map of Bass Strait.

Answer: Winning the America's Cup

Who can forget Australia II and its famous winged keel storming home by only 25 seconds to win the Cup? Of course, in Australia it was on quite early, but that didn't stop millions of Aussies rushing bleary eyed to the tellie to share the dream, and to sing along with the crew's self-proclaimed anthem "Land Down Under" one more time.

The coin was released in 2008 as an uncirculated coin only.