Australia's first shillings were struck not in Australia but at the Royal Mint in London, a situation that persisted until the opening of the Melbourne branch mint's expansion of operations. The 1910 issue was part of the inaugural coinage series for the Commonwealth, authorized under the Coinage Act of 1909, which finally gave Australia its own distinct currency identity separate from the hodgepodge of British and colonial pieces that had circulated since federation in 1901.
Edward VII died in May 1910, making this one of the final years his effigy would appear on Commonwealth coinage before George V types replaced it.
Australia's first shillings were struck not in Australia but at the Royal Mint in London, a situation that persisted until the opening of the Melbourne branch mint's expansion of operations. The 1910 issue was part of the inaugural coinage series for the Commonwealth, authorized under the Coinage Act of 1909, which finally gave Australia its own distinct currency identity separate from the hodgepodge of British and colonial pieces that had circulated since federation in 1901.
Edward VII died in May 1910, making this one of the final years his effigy would appear on Commonwealth coinage before George V types replaced it.