The face of the late Queen Elizabeth II will soon stop adorning Australian coins and the $5 note.
Since 1966, more than 15bn Australian coins have been minted, almost all of them featuring an image of the Queen. In the aftermath of her death though, Australians still using actual currency will need to get used to seeing a new face.
Will the old currency still be valid?
Yes. You don’t need to get used to a new world order right away. Existing coins bearing the Queen’s face will remain in circulation.
“All Australian banknotes issued from 1913 retain their legal tender status,” a spokesperson for the Reserve Bank of Australia said.
Australian Catholic University researcher Dr Michael Theophilos said it would be a matter of gradually taking older coins out of circulation and issuing new ones, as has been done in the past.
“Since 1953, there have been six different portraits of the Queen issued on our coins, slowly showing the process of ageing,” he said. “2018 is the most recent version, but others still remain in circulation.”
What will the new coins look like?
The new coins will use an image supplied by the UK Royal Mint and are likely to feature King Charles III facing left, the opposite way to his mother.
This would continue a royal tradition dating back to Charles II in 1660.
Theophilos said there would be a number of portraits in contention, however the winner would ultimately be selected on what looked “regal, appropriate and realistic”. It’ll take some getting used to.
When will the new coins be rolled out?
The Royal Australian Mint expects the new coins will be released in 2023.
With speculation over the Queen’s health dating back months, the Treasury has been working with the Royal Australian Mint and the Perth Mint to plan for the change in image that comes with a new sovereign.
From this time, coins with the portrait of both sovereigns will comingle in circulation. But as the transition will take some time, coins will continue to be minted bearing the Queen in weeks to come.
What about the $5 note?
As with coins, there’ll be a choice for some time between a new one with Charles III and one with Elizabeth II, and “all existing” $5 notes can continue to be used.
“The monarch has traditionally appeared on the lowest denomination of Australian banknotes and it is our expectation that this would continue should there be a change in the monarch,” the RBA spokesperson said.
“We will plan for an update to the $5 banknote design in due course. Creating the design for new banknotes is a complex process.
“It can be several years [between] when a banknote is printed and when it is issued into circulation depending on demand from the public and the need to replace banknotes that have become worn in circulation.”
It’s likely to be a costly process. The RBA’s latest suite of polymer notes – called the NGB (Next Generation of Banknotes) program – took 10 years and $37m to complete.
New $5 notes featuring King Charles’s head will also likely continue to bear some of the complex security traits of existing notes, including 3D and moving imagery, a tactile feature for the visually impaired, colour changes, microprinted lines from the constitution and fluorescence under UV light.
Why are the monarchs on our coins?
According to the 1965 Currency Act, Australian coins must feature a portrait of the current monarch. This is custom in many Commonwealth countries – since 1935, the Queen has appeared on the currency of more than 30 nations.
Theophilos said the tradition of asserting one’s authority in society through currency dates back to ancient Rome.
“The really interesting thing is how jarring it is for people to have the change and what it means politically given the precarious relationship Australia has with the Commonwealth,” he said.
“How do we summarise our culture – a melting pot – on our coins if we no longer have a monarch? It would be open slather for what kinds of imagery would be used to symbolise our nation.”
- Additional reporting from AAP
