10 Cents - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait - Planetary Coins - Earth

The "Planetary Coins" series was the Royal Australian Mint's first use of pad printing technology on a circulating commemorative, applying a multi-colour ink layer directly onto the coin's surface rather than through traditional enamel or cloisonné techniques. The Earth piece anchors the nine-coin series, which ran through 2017 and covered every planet in the solar system alongside the Sun. Pad printing had been used on collector issues elsewhere, but integrating it into a ten-cent circulation format was a genuine production challenge — the coloured surface had to withstand handling without flaking.