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Australian Fifty Cent Coins

2000 Royal Visit 50c

Copper-Nickel

For the first time since 1936 and the very first time ever on decimal coinage, an Australian coin featured a Royal effigy designed by an Australian!
The Royal Australian Mint obtained special permission from Buckingham Palace to feature an effigy by Australian Vladimir Gottwald (a Royal Australian Mint designer) on the Royal Visit coin, celebrating the visit to Australia in March 2000 of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Vladimir’s Australian effigy featured only on the silver commemorative coin and its circulating coin equivalent.
This effigy will not be used again. (Thank God)

Vladimir designed the reverse of this impressive coin, featuring our flag flying above Parliament House. Alongside the flag is St Edward’s Crown, believed to contain gold from Edward the Confessor’s crown, who is thought to be the first monarch to assemble a regalia.
The 50-cent coin released into general circulation by the Royal Australian Mint to commemorate the Royal Visit in March 2000 has been voted the best circulating coin of the year by the international minting community, in the annual Coin of the Year competition conducted by Krause Publications of the USA.

Finding good uncirculated 2000 Royal Visit coins seems to be quite Herculean. The design has large unprotected fields and few high points making any marks very distinguishable. Most are from circulation.

Nominal Specifications

Denomination:	50 cents
Metal:	75% Copper 25% Nickel
Mass:	15.55 grams
Diameter:	31.50 mm
Reverse:	Vladimir Gottwald
Obverse:	Vladimir Gottwald

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