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1970 Bicentenary Captain James Cook 50 Cents Coin

$9.95 AUD

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SKU: 1970COOK50CENTS-66L Category:
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This 1970 Fifty cents piece is a good strong example and has been in my personal collection for more than 30 years.

It has been lightly circulated and makes a great addition to any coin collection.

The reverse by Stuart Devlin depicts Captain James Cook and a map of Australia showing a dotted line that follows his route along the eastern seaboard of Australia in 1770. Cook’s claim to be the first to find Australia has long since been over thrown with other European explorers beating him to the drop by several hundred years.

It was the first time we saw a 12 sided (dodecagon) coin in Australia with a design other than the coat of arms. The 12 sided design has only been superseded once when the RAM released the 14 sided version (tetra decagon) in 2012 which bore the Year of the Dragon design.

It is one of the largest general circulation coins in the world.

The coin is still a great little piece of Australian history and every coin collection should have at least one example.

SKU

Year

Denomination

Approx. Grade

Design

Design Details:    

The 1970 Captain Cook 50c
12 sided dodecagonal coin
Edge Plain.
cupro-nickel – 75% copper and 25% nickel
Weight 15.55 grams
Diameter 31.51mm
16 million of the coins for general circulation.
550,000 struck to specimen standards and mounted in red plastic cases.
15,500 coins struck to proof standard for proof sets
40,000 brilliant uncirculated coins were issued in the 1970 mint sets.
70 special presentation sets each containing two proof coins.

Obverse: HM Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley

Reverse: Captain James Cook sculpted by Stuart Devlin

History

The twelve-sided Australian fifty-cent piece is the third-largest denomination coin of the Australian dollar and the largest under a dollar. It is the only 12 sided coin of its size in the southern hemisphere. It was introduced in 1969 to replace the round fifty-cent coin issued in 1966.

The original, round, 50c coin was made of 80% silver and 20% copper; but as the value of a free-floating silver price became higher, the coin’s bullion value became more valuable than its face value; so that version was withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the dodecagonal cupro-nickel version.

It is by diameter the largest Australian coin currently issued and second largest after the Crown of 1937–38. It is also the heaviest Australian coin in common circulation. Many commemorative designs have been issued, the large size allowing for detailed content.

*All details taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes

*All historical information taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes only.

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