Twenty Cents 2013 First Australian Banknote, 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 commemorates the centenary of the first Australian banknote.

In the 19th century, many Australian banks issued "private" (not government) banknotes. The Australian Notes Act 1910 of the Parliament of Australia allowed for the creation of Australia's first national banknotes, and in conjunction with the Coinage Act 1909 it created the Australian pound as a separate national currency from the pound sterling. It also effectively prohibited (by taxing them) all private banknotes.

The first banknotes of the Commonwealth of Australia, denominated in the then new Australian Pound, were issued in May 1913. Like the British pre-decimal pound on which it based, the Australian pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, with 12 pence per shilling (thus, a pound had 240 pence). The first banknote series featured a ten-shilling banknote (equal to one half of a pound and abbreviated as 10s or 10/- meaning ten shilling and zero pence); it depicted the Goulburn Irrigation Weir in Victoria, built in the late 1880s as part of a major irrigation scheme to mitigate the effects of drought. Between 1911 and 1915 there were especially low rainfalls and so the choice of this image and those of agricultural prosperity may have sought to improve national morale. This image is also displayed on the reverse of this 20 cents commemorative coin.

No coins of this type were issued into circulation.