Five Cents 2002, Coin from Australia - detailed information

The obverse shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.

In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).

Around the effigy is the monarch's legend and the date: ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2002.

The reverse of the coin depicts an echidna (also known as a spiny ant-eater) seen from below as it rolls into a protective ball.

The denomination numeral 5 [cents] is above the lower half of the animal.

The artist's initials SD (for Stuart Devlin) are below the numeral in (very) tiny letters.

Mintage figure includes:
68,560,000 circulation coins dated 2002, minted in the 2001/2002 financial year (ending 30 June)
80,252,000 circulation coins dated 2002, minted 2002/2003
85,306 brilliant uncirculated coins in sets, minted 2001/2002
19,247 brilliant uncirculated coins in sets, minted 2002/2003
44,025 proofs, minted 2001/2002
9,484 proofs, minted 2002/2003

Sources of original information:

Royal Australian Mint, Annual Report 2001 - 2002 (2002), pp 53, 55. Retrieved from https://www.ramint.gov.au/annual-reports (PDF)
Royal Australian Mint, 2002-03 Annual Report Supplement (2003), pp 2, 4. Retrieved from https://www.ramint.gov.au/annual-reports (PDF)