Australia's one-cent coin was withdrawn from circulation in 1992, a victim of rounding legislation that rendered the lowest denomination economically pointless — the coin cost more to produce than its face value. This 2016 issue marks fifty years since the original cent entered circulation at decimal changeover on 14 February 1966, the date Australia abandoned pounds, shillings, and pence in one of the most logistically complex currency transitions the Pacific region had seen.
The Perth Mint produced the commemorative under its collector program rather than through the Royal Australian Mint, which struck the originals.
Australia's one-cent coin was withdrawn from circulation in 1992, a victim of rounding legislation that rendered the lowest denomination economically pointless — the coin cost more to produce than its face value. This 2016 issue marks fifty years since the original cent entered circulation at decimal changeover on 14 February 1966, the date Australia abandoned pounds, shillings, and pence in one of the most logistically complex currency transitions the Pacific region had seen.
The Perth Mint produced the commemorative under its collector program rather than through the Royal Australian Mint, which struck the originals.