2011 Australian $2 Coin

Quick answers

Is the 2011 Australian $2 rare?

It is scarcer than most $2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.

How many 2011 Australian $2 coins were made?

1,800,000 were struck for circulation.

What is the 2011 Australian $2 made of?

Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel). It weighs 6.6 g and measures 20.5 mm.

Is the 2011 Australian $2 still legal tender?

Yes. Every $2 coin, colored commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.

How to recognize it

There's nothing on a 2011 coin to separate it from other Ian Rank-Broadley dates except the date itself. The obverse shows the Queen in a tiara with IRB below the neck and ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2011 around the rim. The reverse has Horst Hahne's Aboriginal elder, modeled on Gwoya Jungarai, with the Southern Cross stars and grass trees. HH initials are not present. Read the last two digits under good light, since a worn 2011 can look like a 2017 or 2014 at a glance. Uncirculated coins from the mint's annual sets show bright, frosty luster that circulated coins quickly lose.

2011 Australian $2 by the numbers

Measured by how many were made, the 2011 Australian $2 is the lowest of 36 circulation dates of the $2 coin. The next more common is the 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) (2 million).

Compared with the dates around it, the 2011 output was 20 times fewer than 2010 and 3.3 times fewer than 2012.

What to check on your 2011 Australian $2

• Confirm the date 2011 and the portrait on the other side.
• Check the edge: Australian $2 coins have interrupted milling, with sections of reeding separated by smooth gaps.
• Weigh it if you are unsure: a genuine $2 coin weighs 6.6 g and is 20.5 mm across.

This is the key date for regular $2 coins. Even worn examples are worth keeping because so few exist and nice circulated coins bring a small premium. Uncirculated 2011 coins with full luster draw a collector premium and are the most wanted regular date for people building a complete set. Coins from the mint's annual uncirculated sets are a good source of high grade examples. Don't clean one: polishing leaves fine scratches that collectors spot straight away and it lowers interest rather than raising it.

Ian Rank-Broadley portrait: the long middle run (1999 to 2019)

From 1999 the Queen appeared in a more mature portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley, wearing the tiara known as the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland. His IRB initials sit under the neck, which is the quickest way to tell his coins from the Maklouf and Clark ones. This portrait stayed on the $2 for two decades, longer than any other on the coin so far. Hahne's reverse carried on untouched. On Australian decimal coins it followed Arnold Machin's portrait of 1966 and Raphael Maklouf's of 1985.

Mintages in this period swing wildly because the Royal Australian Mint strikes to meet demand from the banks. The 2009 date reached 74.5 million, the highest since the launch year, while 2000 managed only 5.7 million. The real standout is 2011 at just 1.8 million, the lowest circulation figure for any $2 date. The 2012 date was also light at 5.9 million and both years have become favorites for people checking their change.

This era also brought color into Australian pockets. In 2012 the Remembrance Day $2 with a red poppy became the first colored coin in the $2 series released for circulation. A steady run of colored designs followed for Anzac anniversaries, sporting events and a children's book. The portrait ended in an unusual way: in 2019 the mint switched to Jody Clark's effigy partway through the year, so that date exists with both portraits.

Mintage chart

Specifications

Frequently asked questions