Twenty Cents 2000 (Silver, King Edward VII), Coin from Australia - detailed information

The Australian 20 cent coin was first introduced with decimalisation on 14 February 1966 when it replaced the pre-decimal Australian florin, to which it is equal in size and mass. The original reverse design by Stuart Devlin has not been changed since its introduction.

The denomination is occasionally used by both the Royal Australian Mint and the Perth Mint to issue collector coins, which are legal tender in Australia - such as this one.

This coin was part of the 5-coin set Matserpieces in Silver 2000 - Coins of the 20th Century - Monarchs. The set depicts five monarchs whose effigies have circulated on Australian currency during the 20th Century. The set contains:

2 Dollars with Queen Victoria
20 Cents with King Edward VII (this coin)
20 Cents with King George V
50 Cents with King George VI
20 Cents with Queen Elizabeth II - Mary Gillick effigy

All of these coins have the Fourth Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley on the obverse - which also shows the value and denomination; on the other side, they have a historic obverse depicting one of the monarchs and carrying his/her legend, in Latin language as was the practice on pre-decimal coins. Thus, they have the curious appearance of having two obverses, although technically speaking the "historic" side is a commemorative reverse in this case.

Actual mintage of the set was 10,412 from an initially announced limit of 15,000.

The coins are made of 99.9% silver and were issued in Proof FDC grade only. No coins of this type were released into circulation.