Australian animals on Australian coins.
Australia has a diverse array of unique wildlife and many can be seen on our coins. Australia changed over to the decimal money system on 14 February 1966 so we will focus on decimal coins for this post!
- Five cent coin. Echidna.
On the reverse side of the Australian five cent coin can be found the Echidna. A spiky ball of muscle that tends to "dig in" when it hears the approach of heavy feet. They will bury themselves enough just so their spikes are protruding out of the ground. It takes a lot of effort to pull one out of its hiding place, because they grip the earth like a kid on its first ride on a roller coaster.
- Ten cent coin. Lyrebird.
On the reverse of the Australian ten cent coin can be found a Lyrebird. A Lyrebird is a ground dwelling bird that has roamed Australia for 15 million years (fossil evidence shows this). They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment, like a chainsaw or car alarm.
Watch this video and listen to the mimicry of the Lyrebird
- Ten cent coin. Platypus.
One the reverse of the Australian twenty cent coin can be found the Platypus. When descriptions of the Platypus were first sent back to England, they thought someone was playing a practical joke! A little animal that has a beak like a duck, a tail like a beaver, webbed feet like an otter and it lays eggs! Can it be true? It is! A little known fact about the Platypus is that the male has poisonous spurs behind its back legs so it is best to avoid picking them up, unless you are good at telling male and female Platypus apart. Like all wild animals though, the Platypus is best observed.
- Fifty cent coin. Emu and Kangaroo. Australian coat of arms.
On the reverse of the Australian fifty cent coin can be found the Australian coat of arms which contains an Emu and a Kangaroo. The Emu is Australias largest native bird which can reach up to 1.9 meters tall (6.3 feet) which is the second tallest bird in the world! An Emu has extremely strong legs and can run at speeds up to 50kmh (30 mph). Emus have short stunted wings and can not fly. Emus in the wild are best avoided as they will kick and peck to defend their eggs and you don't want to be pecked by an Emu! Let's talk about the Kangaroo when we get to our next coin.
- One dollar coin. Kangaroo.
There is a few different species of Kangaroo but the most common are the Grey (like skippy) and the red Kangaroo. Kangaroos can be seen across Australia hanging out in "mobs". Kangaroos are mostly known for the way they carry their young in a pouch, how handy! Some can be friendly and approachable but be warned! Male Kangaroos can aggressively defend their "mob" from outsiders with a swift kick to the lower abdomen area, usually they aim for a fellas testis, which, with one kick they can rip off or, (in the case of some), disembowel you! Not so cute now are they! Great eating though! If you ever get the chance to try a roo steak, jump at it, you will be pleasantly surprised.
OUCH!
Everyone wants to give Australia's most iconic animal a cuddle! Well, until they sink their claws into you like you are a branch of a eucalyptus tree! So why don't we have a Koala (which isn't actually a bear, they aren't even related), on one of our coins? Well we do! But not like the other animals featured on our coins. The Koala makes a cameo appearance on the 2004 Student Design fifty cent coin (along with a wombat and lorikeet) and can be also found on the two hundred dollar gold coin. If you are an Aussie, keep an eye on your change! Two hundred dollar coins have been known to be mistaken for two dollar coins because they are a similar size and colour!
- 2004 Student design fifty cent coin.
"This 50c is the standard 31.51mm dodecagonal coin with plain edging. It is copper nickel weighing 15.55g. The obverse is the standard Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The reverse was designed by 12 year old John Serrano, a year 5 student at St Peter’s Primary School in East Keilor Victoria. Vladimir Gottwald took John’s design and sculpted into the 3 dimensional design which was used on the dies to strike this coin.
John was the winner of the Mint’s Primary School Student Coin Design Competition of which there were just under 2,600 entries. The theme for the design was “Australia”. It was the public who determined the winner by voting on the RAM website. John won $10,000 for his school in the competition. It was held following the success of a similar competition in which school children designed the state series of 20c pieces in 2001. His design features a koala, wombat, lorikeet and the initials JS.
The design was originally just for a collector piece but it was later decided to release it into circulation." Source - https://www.australian-coins.com
Here are a couple of images of the Australian one and two cent coins which were made obsolete in 1991.
- On the reverse of the one cent coin can be found a Feather tailed glider.
- On the reverse of the two cent coin can be found a Frilled neck lizard.
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