Australian Decimal Currency

Australia moved to decimal currency on 14 February 1966, with the new Australian dollar equivalent to ten shillings or half an Australian pound in the previous currency.

Since a shilling became equal to ten cents, the Australian cent was equal to 1.2 Australian pence, although they were usually exchanged on a 1:1 basis during the brief period when both were circulating.

Coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents.

The initial 50-cent coins contained 80% silver and were withdrawn after a year when the intrinsic value of the silver content was found to considerably exceed the face value of the coins. The 1966 50-cent was circular, but since 1967, they have been a (12-sided) dodecagon.

One-dollar coins were introduced in 1984, followed by two-dollar coins in 1988 to replace the banknotes of that value, while the one-cent and two-cent coins were discontinued in 1991 and withdrawn from circulation.