3 $1 Australian Coins That Could Be Hiding in Your Change

Australian coin collectors and experts have spotlighted three $1 gold coins that could be hiding in your change—each potentially worth far more than its face value.

Coin collecting is a fun and engaging hobby that can yield some interesting discoveries. In Australia, there are three particular $1 coins that coin collectors and experts are keeping an eye out for in 2023. These coins could be lurking in your change and might be worth far more than their face value.

According to experts at Coinxchange, these coins derive their value from minting errors, unique designs, and the quantity released into circulation.

2001 Centenary of Federation $1 Coin (Rotation Error) – Worth $50 to $100

One of the top coins to keep an priority is the 2001 Centenary of Federation $1 coin with a rotation error. These can be sold for about $50 to $100.

The quantity is 27.9 million coins for the year 2001. A small number of these coins have an error where the Queen’s head is not completely upright when the coin is flipped.

Doug Mcrostie, founder of Coinxchange, said the error was caused by a die issue during production, which led to misaligned prints.

“So they actually printed a whole bunch of different rotations, so it’s not a specific 90 degrees,” Mcrostie told Yahoo Finance.

“People frame it as a 1 o’clock rotation, or a 2 o’clock or 3 o’clock. So you can literally have it going all the way around.

“The most desirable ones are a direct 180 or a 90 degree. I’ve seen one collector have the full clock, so they had all 12 versions.”

But only a small number of these coins still in circulation have the rotation error. Mcrostie estimates that several thousand could still be in circulation.

2021 Mob of Roos $1 Coin – Worth $10 to $25

Another coin to watch out for is the 2021 Mob of Roos $1 coin.

This coin doesn’t have an error, but it’s valuable because so few were made. Only 106,000 of these standard issue coins were released, making it the lowest mintage $1 coin in active circulation.

It is also the lowest mintage coin released by the Royal Australian Mint since 1994. For reference, the 2020 Lunar Series III (Year of the Rat) $1 coin had a mintage of 250,000.

Coin collectors currently value this coin between $10 and $25.

2016 Changeover $1 Coin – Worth $20 to $50

The third rare coin is the 2016 Changeover $1 coin, which was minted to mark 50 years since Australia switched to decimal currency in 1966.

This coin features a special commemorative obverse design that pays tribute to the historic Australian Florin (minted from 1910 to 1963), while its reverse side displays the iconic Mob of Roos.

It is part of a six-coin commemorative series, which also includes coins in denominations of 5c, 10c, 50c, and $5. The $1 Changeover coin saw 560,000 units minted.

Coins in the series were designed by Bronwyn McMenamin and feature motifs from coins that circulated in Australia during the pre-decimal era (1910 to 1963).

This coin is valued between $20 and $50, depending on its condition.