Decimal mintmarks

[David Miller]

The Mintmark Dollars

My attempt to reduce the stress.

If, like me, you can only achieve true happiness when your collection is complete and that has to include all "mintmarks" you'll have to endure reading this whole blog. You might need a couple of strong short blacks half way through though.
There seems to be some confusion, the reasons for which are not hard to fathom as we shall see, over the Royal Australian Mint's use of 'mintmarks' on its decimal coinage.  We discuss here only the familiar base metal coinage and are not interested in proof or precious metal types. Just the proper coins. The saga begins in1993.

1984-92. The calm before the storm. A sensible three commemorative dollars in nine years.  One of these and three of the standard mob-of-roos coins remain uncirculated, so are worth seeking out. Collectors are looked after with the annual mint set and a package or two.  The mint is there to make stuff to buy things with.

1993.  Suddenly our staid and bureaucratic RAM, no doubt fired up with entrepreneurial zeal after a few stormy board meetings, goes all commercial and introduces three coins of identical design to the circulated Landcare dollar except for a tiny letter raised on the field of the reverse. These first mintmarks are C (Canberra), S (Sydney) and M (Melbourne) but they are "mintmarks" in name only as all emanate, as they always will, from the one mint in Canberra. They are sold in individual envelopes at a premium.  Mintmark coins are not made for circulation.

1994. This year the circulated dollar is the standard mob-of-roos and the same three mintmarks as last year are applied to an uncirculated Dollar Decade design. Still keeping things pretty simple.

1995. A fourth mintmark (B for Brisbane) is added to a noncirculating Banjo Patterson commemorative, and only a standard coin is circulated.

1996. The only dollar produced this year is a Henry Parkes commemorative. The plain coin is circulated and five mintmark versions are sold in collector packages, the newcomer being an A for Adelaide. Profits are picking up.

1997. A Kingsford-Smith design is used for the same five mintmark coins. The circulated coin also commemorates Kingsford-Smith but the design is different. Clever!

1998. The standard dollar is released for circulation and the five mintmarks are applied to an uncirculated Howard Florey commemorative.

1999. There are now two commemoratives.  The circulated coin is the Older Persons dollar and the mintmark dollar (Last Anzacs) comes again in the same familiar five mintmark versions. Stay with me.

2000.  At last, a more interesting year. Perhaps someone at the mint is getting bored because the first novelty is the reissue of the Last Anzacs mintmark coin of last year, now with the new date but no mintmark, along with another unmarked commemorative (Victoria Cross).  

Then, a standard coin is circulated (in small numbers), while there are two different mintmark designs. The HMAS Sydney coin comes with C and S mintmarks only and the Olymphilex dollar uniquely has the words either CANBERRA or SYDNEY inscribed on the rim but rather unhelpfully for those with display albums has no distinguishing symbol on the face of the coin.
2001.  A premonition of things to come, although mintmarks are sparse this year. There is a profusion of commemoratives, two of them circulated.  The mintmark coin is for the Army Centenary and again appears with C and S mintmarks only. A Navy and an Air Force coin complete the fighting trio but are not mintmarked.

2002.  Back to sanity, but not for long.  One circulated commemorative and no standard coin.  There are 4 marked versions of the same Outback commemorative, but only the C marked coin bears a raised mintmark.  The S, M and B versions show for the first time what have come to be titled counterstamps – raised letters in a countersunk circle. They are still called "mintmarks" by ignorant yobbos including all dealers and collectors, the staff at the Mint and everybody else.

2003. Two circulated commemoratives and another uncirculated, in addition to the marked coin.  This time all four Coat of Arms dollars (C, S, B, M) have counterstamps rather than the raised mintmarks.

Counterstamps in ensuing years will be either (a) included in the design at the mint by incorporation in the master die, or (b) stamped into to an already minted unmarked coin using a mobile press at city coin shows.  The two production methods can sometimes be distinguished by the mobile stamped coin having a shallower and less distinct marking, but that's far too subtle for me. Mobile coin presses are not perfect, so occasionally a coin escapes without its counterstamp and becomes very expensive.  There's no profit in that for the mint, so these are rare occurrences.  Better check that collection.

2004. A standard coin is circulated and the one commemorative carries five different counterstamps.  There are the usual four, the fifth being rather exciting if you are easily excited.  We witness the first appearance of a letter specific to the commemoration, though the E is for Eureka rather than Exciting.

2005. A standard and a commemorative dollar are circulated. The (different) marked commemorative bears the familiar four counterstamps plus a G for Gallipoli. I believe some spoilsport thought he'd make a killing by buying up and stockpiling as many Gs as he could at the time, so that version is not so easy to find, unless of course you happen to be the bloke who did it.

2006. The idea of a specific mintmark seems to have got them stirred up at the mint, because with the marked dollar series this year the fifth counterstamp is (gosh!) a two-initial one: TV is short for something really worth celebrating (good guess).  The letters barely fit into the tiny circle. This is also, incidentally, the year that a pad printing machine makes its dubious debut, progressively introducing colour printed coins to the collector's ever-expanding shopping list. None of these - well, at least the dollars - have marks though (so far...please!)

2007. Things are getting complicated in dollar land, but mercifully the counterstamp dollar this year comes with just the four: C, S, B and M.  A total of fifteen different 2007 dollars are the requirement for a complete collection and that cheeky colour printer has probably paid for itself already.

2008. 19 dollar types are the addicted collector's burden this year, including seven versions of the Coat of Arms "mark" coin. The raised mintmark is back for the C version only. S, M and B are each represented by two coins; one with the familiar counterstamp and the other with a new invention, the privymark.
 
Privymarks consist of a letter incused on a raised square and are being introduced because, as somebody must have pointed out, only the mint of issue, which for real coins is now always Canberra, can rightly put its own mint mark on a coin.  It being the only mint.  Just to clear that up.

2009. Another cascade of unmarked special designs as well as the standard dollar. Time for that coffee. The Citizen Centenary commemorative comes simply with the C mintmark and S, B and M privymarks - all, as now seems to be the fashion, in a single package.  But don't relax, there's more: an otherwise normal looking mob-of-roos dollar bears a mysterious "master mintmark" like a letter C with a kangaroo on top of it, and if that is not enough a second version of the same oddly marked coin gets in addition a C counterstamp.  Are there no rules?

2010. There are 9 different marked coins of the same Coinage Centenary design this time. One package has the same four marks as last year; the other introduces four new privymarks:  A, P, H, and D for the capital cities beginning with those initials.  In addition there is one C counterstamped version.  Bet you're wide awake now.
   
2011. Now things begin to get really silly: 13 marked coins.  The two packaged Ram's Head sets each have the same 4 marks as last year while the mobile mint is trotted around the country to press no fewer than five counterstamps: S, M, B, A and P. This of course is not to mention the other 14 different unmarked designs. So please don't mention them.

2012. This year the second set of privymark coins has apparently, and to muted applause, been permanently abandoned leaving just the C mintmark plus S, M and B privymark set.  But there are again five counterstamps: S, M, B and P while Adelaide misses out (yes, I know) in favour of a novel "bluebell" counterstamp , all on a Wheatsheaf design dollar. The bluebell counterstamp dollar sports a C mintmark as well, so the bluebell has to find another place on the coin (just accept it). As an aside, the $2 coin gets its first annual outing as a commemorative, including a C mintmark version. Is all this beginning not to matter?

2013.  Sorry, can't stop now. Among the expected profusion of coins we have the now familiar mintmark and privymark 4-coin set and S, M, B and P counterstamps, making nine Holey Dollar dollars in all. A counterstamp (M) has been applied to a commemorative 50c coin for the first and so far only time. Please, not a prediction that the 50c will one day be going the way of the dollar?

2014. Is there at last some glimmering of a pattern?  The nine Terra Australis dollars have the same set of marks as last year. But don't be fooled – in addition there are two counterstamped versions of a circulated Anzac 100 Years commemorative: M and AL, the latter for Albany in W.A. whence the first Anzac troops sailed.  And no, it doesn't stop there.  The perfectly innocent standard mob of roos comes in for every indecency known to the mint including colour printing, that plus the wrong metal and, as if those weren't enough, the counterstamp (S) treatment as well.  Where will it all end?

2015. Whew!  Nearly there. The 2015 four-coin package has the now familiar marks and there are S, M and B counterstamps as well – Perth's turn to be left out. The first novelty for 2015 is the reappearance of the funny standard mob-of-roos dollar. Five otherwise normal ones now get (only just) embellished with the privymarks S, M, B and P –  microscope handy? – along with a unique privymark depicting a walking figure, the Ampelmann symbol of German pedestrian crossings.  Don't ask.

Then in case the excitement is wearing off, three more commemoratives put in a late showing, each with its own counterstamp; a football one stamped M, an S-counterstamped rugby commemorative and a weird reminting of last year's Anzac 100 coin with a "map of Australia" counterstamp.  You'll need a bit of imagination.  And I hope you're not from Tasmania.  As an encore, we get the first and only counterstamped 20c coin, but that's another, not guaranteed to stay short, story.
Incidentally, the dollar count for 2015 is an alarming 51 among the total of 93 different 2015 coins that harassed completists must acquire, assuming they haven't long ago given up, and that of course excludes proof and precious metal coins, besides all the stuff the Perth mint churns out.  Just a thought: I'm hoping the printing of 41 different coloured coins this year, and again that doesn't include numerous proof and precious metal coins, has worn the pad printer out and that a long maintenance break is in order. Dare I hope the same might befall the mobile press?

2016.  Be very afraid....


David Miller.

Coin collector (but considering reconsidering).

[Goldseeker]

Don't forget the Henry Parkes had a special overprinted Folder for the Canberra Show with the "C" Mintmark.   This makes six foldered coins in total for 1996 Henry Parkes Issue.

2000 Last ANZAC coins were for the issue of PNC's only.

2003 Should read Korean War and not Coat of Arms.   Further there are two varieties of the B,M,S issues as some were done on the Heavy press at the RAM whilst some were done on Portable Presses at shows etc.  Although all the impressions are Counterstamped, some are deeper that others because of the pressure used on the two presses are much different from one another.

Have you included the $1 coins from the Baby Sets?

I am fully aware of your attempts to maintain a full $1 Collection as I am pulling my hair out trying to secure the lot to maintain my full $1 25mm Alum Br collection.   (I have the 26 x Alum Br baby set and the coloured semi prrof set of which all have the same COA at no 400.   Whether I purchase the 2016 sets is another thing).

I am still getting to read your above post as there is a lot in there to absorb and check out.

Regards

[trout]

2016. Be very afraid....

not any more, after the ABC issue I wrote this series off as being far too much a pain in the arse.
My collecting is far more relaxed now without the constant hassle of trying to source all the stupid couterstamps and whatever :yahoo:
Been there Done that and now "Over It" :dance2:

[Mister T]

I've never had a complete set of dollar coins at any point during my collecting life and I doubt I ever will.

[JeffH]

I have a complete set of circulation dollars plus a number of NCLT found in circulation and quite a few errors of various types.
Anything more borders on madness.

[runway]

Also include to the tally 2015 dated 500 AFL and 500 NRL Coloured $1
People who visited the RAM stands at the Melbourne and Sydney locations during Grand Final week were given the opportunity to enter a draw to win one of these.

[interest]

Well done David, have missed a couple, but a huge A for your blog.
You have summed it up nicely & I get it.

[runway]

Forum needs more people like you David well said

[eccentric]

You can say that again.  I am one of those collectors who have just given up.  I will be keeping a single set of all the circulation-only coins in UNC and the rest are going to eBay.  In fact, I have a couple of collections on there already.  The number of issues each year has simply put coin collecting out of the reach of my pocket, and I'm moving on.

[autocoupler]

I made a decision long ago to flick anything that was pad printed/coloured, and just stick with 25mm al/br including any single NCLT. Even so, it all added up to 22 coins this year, which did include one each from the visitor gallery presses, and I did do a Poppy Dollar.

I do like the idea of counterstamped coins, I just wish the RAM would cease their habit of pre stamping dealer allocations, and leave it up to collectors to source these coins the best way they can even if it does make for the odd disappointed individual. IMHO the series would be much more interesting if run this way. Yeah...I know, nothing in it for the RAM.

[interest]

Do you mind if we add to it Dave?
These are only minor additions
In 2005 there were two mobile presser's in Sydney ANDA & Pacific Stamp

in 2007 there was an extra "C" mobile press from the Canberra collectors fair
in 2013 there was three mobile presser's in Sydney
Royal Easter Show
ANDA show
Rotary International Convention at Olympic park
(Same folder & same coin) but what's a full set if you don't have a full set, & does this have to be there for a full set. LOL
Oh & the
2012,2013,2014 & 2015 Ethel C Pedley from the Baby set's

One day somebody will come up with a full set, that wont be me because I refused to buy the 26 alphabet coins from last year & the ridiculous animals of war 'coins?' which look like kiddies tokens so my collection no longer becomes relevant as there is a hole of some 30 coins.

[trout]

I have a full set of those stupid ABC coins I just chucked in a box .
Not only the sheer volume of coins put me off this particular series ,I have an issue with the quality control as well.
At $15 a pop you should get a reasonable coin but that wasn't the case with these

[interest]

I have a full set of those stupid ABC coins I just chucked in a box .
Not only the sheer volume of coins put me off this particular series ,I have an issue with the quality control as well.
At $15 a pop you should get a reasonable coin but that wasn't the case with these

do you think $15 is too much to pay for a Dollar coin?
The amount they churn out & the quality of same has put me off.

[trout]

The amount they churn out & the quality of same has put me off.

Me too which is an absolute shame as I really enjoyed collecting this series previously.
Ah well at least it made me look at other avenues to collect and I now have a half reasonable collection of Brit Indian coins along with a growing collection of Brit Maundy coins :good:

[Fulvio]

I have an issue with the quality control as well.

You can say that again.

Today I picked up a bunch of packages from the RAM and RM.

RAM quality crap, as expected. And at a substantial premium.

RM £20 silver coins are stunning, especially for a business strike at face value.

The guys in Canberra have a lot to learn I'm afraid.