Fifty Cents 2025 Dorothea Mackellar - Dawn, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The Australian 50 cent denomination was first introduced as a silver coin with decimalisation on 14 February 1966, but was changed in 1969 to its current specifications: a large dodecagonal (12-sided) copper-nickel coin; apart from the usual design featuring the Australian Coat of Arms, the denomination is also extensively used to issue circulating commemorative coins with various reverses. It is one of the heaviest coins in regular circulation in the world.

Apart from circulating coins, the Royal Australian Mint has a range of Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) 50 cent coins issued for collectors, such as this one.

This coin is part of a three-coin mini series dedicated to Australian poet and writer Dorothea Mackellar (1885 - 1968).

The mint says about it:
Dorothea Mackellar’s words are woven into the fabric of Australia’s cultural identity. Her poetry, rich with emotion, captures the beauty, harshness and spirit of the land she so adored. Born in 1885, Mackellar remains a literary icon, her works reflecting a profound connection to the landscapes and contrasts of her “opal-hearted country.”

Now, her timeless verses are beautifully brought to life in a set of 50 cent coins, each designed to honour her most celebrated poems.

Inspired by Dawn, the first coin captures the tranquil beauty of the road to Gunnedah, a place Mackellar held dear. As the soft light of sunrise spreads across the landscape, a delicate spider web glistens. It evokes Mackellar’s deep connection to her family property, Kurrumbede, where she was often moved by the mystic splendour of daybreak. The intricate design invites collectors to pause and marvel at the transformative power of dawn, as Mackellar did in her life and writing.