LAST year marked the 50^th anniversary of decimal currency, and one avid collector has honoured that anniversary with a very special 50 cent coin display, created for his son, which has finally reached completion.

Lex Van Huisstede started collecting 50 cent coins some fifteen years ago, with the view to putting them together in a frame or display for each of his children for the decimal anniversary, being 50 years of 50 cent coins.

For many years, any 50 cent coins went into a jar.

As it got closer to 2016, Lex decided it was time to sort through the coins, setting up the 50 year collections and choosing the better quality coins for his two sets for his children.

He accessed information from the Australian Mint web site, getting detailed information on the everyday 50 cent coins.
He gathered information such as who designed the two faces of the coins (obverse and reverse), the years that 50 cent coins were not minted, and the number of coins minted each year.

There are many years that special coins were minted to celebrate such items as anniversaries of Australian history like the First Fleet, Bass and Flinders, Weary Dunlop, Brisbane Commonwealth Games and the Centenary of Federation.

There were also minted coins celebrating Australian volunteers, Year of the Outback, Year of 2000 Millennium and so on.

To finish off the display, he decided to place coin mint sets at the base of the display.
These sets being the pre-decimal coins (shillings and pence), a 1966 decimal set (start of decimal currency), a 2016 decimal set (50^th anniversary of decimal currency) and his children’s birth years.

Lex shared with News Of The Area, “We have a family get together every year for Christmas at our place and I was lucky enough to have my son’s framed set completed before our family gathering, which I put on show and everyone was impressed with the final product.”
“Now that the set collections are complete, my 50 cents coins go into my grandchildren’s money boxes and hopefully they will be just as impressed with my contributions for their future as my children are with their 50 cent framed presentation.”

 

 

By Rachael VAUGHAN