This five dollar coin was released in conjunction with a host of other item for Australia’s Bicentennial celebrations in 1988.
The coin depicts the new Parliament House in Canberra. It comes encapsulated in a nice presentation box with the Australian Coat of Arms.
A great price for a nice piece of Australian history.
Please note this coin is in pristine condition although there appears to be some dust flecks in the pictures.
Another fantastic addition to the coin collection
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Design Details:Â Â
Weight 28g
Diametre 38.5mm
Composition: Aluminium Bronze.
In 1978 the Fraser government decided to proceed with a new building on Capital Hill, and the Parliament House Construction Authority was created. A two-stage competition was announced, for which the Authority consulted the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and, together with the National Capital Development Commission, made available to competitors a brief and competition documents. The competition drew 329 entries from 28 countries.
The competition winner was the New York-based architectural firm of Mitchell/Giurgola, with the on-site work lead by Italian architect Romaldo Giurgola, with a design which involved burying most of the building under Capital Hill, and capping the edifice with an enormous spire topped by a large Australian flag. The facades, however, deliberately echoed the designs of the Old Parliament House, so that there is a family resemblance despite the massive difference in scale.
Construction began in 1981, and the House was intended to be ready by Australia Day, 26 January 1988, the 200th anniversary of European settlement in Australia. It was expected to cost A$220 million. Neither the deadline nor the budget were met. The building was finally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 May 1988, the anniversary of the opening of both the first Federal Parliament in Melbourne on 9 May 1901 by the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), and of the Provisional Parliament House in Canberra on 9 May 1927 by the Duke of York (later King George VI).
From above, the design of the site is in the shape of two boomerangs enclosed within a circle. Much of the building is buried beneath Capital Hill, but the meeting chambers and accommodation for parliamentarians are free-standing within the boomerang-shaped arms. There are 25,000 granite slabs on the curved walls which, placed end to end, would stretch 46 kilometres. The building required 300,000 cubic metres of concrete, enough to build 25 Sydney Opera Houses and has adesign life of at least 200 years. The building has 4,700 rooms and has 2,416 clocks that are used for calling members or senators to a vote. On a non-sitting day there could be 2,000 to 3,000 people working there.
*All historical information taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes only.
