Australian Currency

Way back in the 1960s Australia made the decision to change over from the imperial measurement system to metric (SI units)

This was done over a number of years from 1970 to 1988.

It was also decided we should first convert our currency from pounds, shillings and pence (£.s.d) to decimal.

The old system was a bit of a nightmare.

2 half pennies = 1 penny 

12 pennies = 1 shilling

20 shillings = 1 pound 

You imagine the time we wasted as school kids doing calculations based on this. 

There was some controversy when our obsessively royalist PM of the time, Robert Menzies, wanted to call the new unit of currency a Royal.
But sanity and the dollar prevailed.

The big day was 14th February 1966 and we were bombarded by various TV ads for many months before. That jingle never leaves your head!

But in the end all it meant was:
1¢ = 1d
$1 = 10 shillings.

$2 = £1

Both currencies were used in tandem for quite a while.

I was reminded of all this when I read the obituary of renowned gold and silversmith Stuart Devlin who was the designer of the original coins.

Below is a picture of the obverse side of them. The Queen's head is always on the other, even to this day.

They are (L to R) Australian coat of arms, feather tail glider, platypus, frilled neck lizard, lyre bird and echidna.

The 1¢ and 2¢ are no longer in circulation. The lowest denomination is now 5¢ and even this may be withdrawn in the not too distant future.

Paper currency started with the dollar and two dollar note progressing through 5,10, 20, 50 and 100.

The first two have been subsequently replaced by coins.

Stuart also designed the $1 coin which was released in 1984.

The $2 coin followed in1988.

Modern polymer banknotes were first developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and The University of Melbourne. They were first issued as currency in Australia during 1988. 

In 1996 Australia switched completely to polymer banknotes.
Many other countries have also gone completely polymer including Canada and New Zealand. The latest countries to introduce polymer banknotes into general circulation include the United Kingdom and Chile.
They are more durable than paper and have the ability to incorporate many security features.
Unfortunately even this hasn't stopped the forgers, just made it more difficult.
Our $50 note is a prime target.