Decimal Currency 60th Anniversary 2026 $1 Gold-plated 1oz Silver Proof Coin

Exclusive, eye-catching and distinctively Australian, the Decimal Currency 60^th Anniversary 2026 $1 Gold-plated 1oz Silver Proof Coin celebrates one of the most significant events in Australian history!

Australia’s original currency system of pounds, shillings and pence was replaced by decimal currency on the 14^th of February 1966. Designed by numismatic master craftsman Stuart Devlin, Australia’s new decimal coinage paid homage to Australian native animals. The kangaroo & emu were found on the 50c, with the platypus (20c), lyrebird (10c), echidna (5c), frilled-neck lizard (2c) and feathertail glider (1c) also honoured. Uniquely Australian, Devlin’s designs are still cherished, even six decades after the nation’s embrace of decimalisation.

Uniting all seven of the animals found on our original decimal coins, the Decimal Currency 60^th Anniversary 2026 $1 Gold-plated 1oz Silver Proof is an entirely fitting celebration of Australia’s currency heritage. A stunning synthesis of the world’s most cherished precious metals, each coin is struck to the peak of Proof quality from 1oz of 99.9% silver, and finished in 24-carat gold.

A strictly limited edition, this official legal tender issue has a mintage of just 1,250. With so few struck, and this superbly designed coin so perfectly capturing the essence of Australia and its iconic native animals, immediate action is essential.

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Australia’s Currency Crossroads – the dawn of the decimal era…

Symbolising the greatest change in Australia’s monetary history, February the 14^th 1966 saw the formal introduction of decimal currency. The system it replaced – a remarkably complex system inherited from Britain and based on a system once used by the Ancient Romans – had underpinned the economy of the Great Southern Land since the time of European settlement in 1788.

Although there was some impetus for the incorporation of the more easily understood decimal system after Federation in 1901, it took until the late 1950s for a widespread desire for change to emerge. Promises to modify the predecimal system were made during the 1958 election campaign by Prime Minister Robert Menzies, and this resulted in the establishment of a Commonwealth Government committee. In April 1963, following the committee’s report, Treasurer Harold Holt announced that Australia would change over to decimal currency.

The Commonwealth Government undertook the largest advertising and education campaign in Australia’s history, and from the cartoon character Dollar Bill to the Dollar Girls to the famous jingle, the program was a spectacular success. Although millions of the old coins and banknotes had to be replaced with Australia’s sparkling new decimal currency, three years of planning meant that the transition to the much simpler decimal system was remarkably smooth. The anticipated chaos never emerged, justifying the Government’s confidence in the changeover. Australians have never looked back after embracing decimal currency, and the mind boggles at the complexity of the original predecimal system.

Defined by exquisite quality, impeccable purity and strictly limited availability, the Decimal Currency 60th Anniversary 2026 $1 Gold-plated 1oz Silver Proof forms a wonderful tribute to this major milestone in Australian history.