2016 Rio Olympics $2 Coin
The 2016 Rio Olympics $2 is a circulating $2 coin with 10 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2016
- Circulation mintage
- 10,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2016 Rio Olympics $2 worth?
Circulated colored $2 coins like the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 usually change hands close to face value. Complete sets still in their collector cards and coins with unworn color bring a little more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Intact, unworn color
- Uncirculated condition
- Original card or collector folder
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 rare?
- No. 10 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2016 Rio Olympics $2 coins were made?
- 10,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 made of?
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel). It weighs 6.6 g and measures 20.5 mm.
- Is the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every $2 coin, colored commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
Why the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 was made
For the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the Royal Australian Mint issued five colored $2 designs, one in each color of the Olympic rings: blue, black, red, yellow and green. Each design had a mintage of 2,000,000, giving a total of 10,000,000 coins, the largest colored $2 release up to that time. The Games were held in August 2016, the first Olympics staged in South America.
The coins were released through a supermarket promotion, with collectible cards made to hold the full set, which meant they reached ordinary shoppers rather than only collectors. Families picked them up in their change and tried to complete the card and the promotion did a lot to make colored $2 coins a household hobby. With so many struck and so much attention at the time, the Rio coins are among the most common colored $2 coins you'll come across, both loose in change and still sitting in their cards. Many complete cards still sit in kitchen drawers and shoe boxes around the country.
How to recognize it
Each of the five coins has a reverse design with color matching one of the Olympic rings, so the color tells you which of the five you have: blue, black, red, yellow or green. All five share the 2016 date and Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen, with IRB under the neck. They are standard $2 coins at 20.5 mm, 6.6 g and aluminum bronze. The black coin can be harder to read at a glance because the color is dark against the gold metal, so tilt it under a light. If yours has cherry blossoms, it's a Tokyo coin from 2020, not a Rio one.
2016 Rio Olympics $2 by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 is the most common of 13 commemorative $2 releases with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2012 Remembrance Day (uncolored) $2 (5.8 million).
2016 brought 3 other circulating $2 coin designs: the Rio Paralympics (2 million), the 50 Years of Decimal Currency (2.88 million) and the 2016 Australian $2 (12.9 million). 2 of them had a smaller run.
What to check on your 2016 Rio Olympics $2
- Confirm the design: Rio Olympics dated 2016, with the colored panel (Blue, Black, Red, Yellow, Green).
- Never clean a colored coin. Rubbing or solvents strip the color, which is most of what collectors are paying for.
- 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.
With 2,000,000 of each design, the Rio coins are plentiful and circulated examples trade at face value or close to it. A complete set of five in clean condition, especially still in the original card, draws more interest than single coins, though usually only a small premium. Worn color is common on coins found in change. Don't clean them. A coin removed from its card is fine to keep in a flip, but card sets are best left intact. Single coins are easy to replace.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 2016 |
| Circulation mintage | 10,000,000 |
| Composition | Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel) |
| Weight | 6.6 g |
| Diameter | 20.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Interrupted milling |
| Colors | Blue; Black; Red; Yellow; Green |
Other 2016 $2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 Australian $2 Coin | 12,900,000 | Face value |
| 2016 50 Years of Decimal Currency $2 Coin | 2,880,000 | Small premium |
| 2016 Rio Paralympics $2 Coin | 2,000,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
How many Rio Olympic $2 coins were made?
Five designs were struck with 2,000,000 of each, for 10,000,000 in total. That's why the Rio coins are among the easiest colored $2 coins to find in change or in collector cards.
What colors are the Rio 2016 $2 coins?
Blue, black, red, yellow and green, the five colors of the Olympic rings. Each color is a separate design and collectors usually try to complete the set of five. The black coin is often the hardest to read.
Mintage figures: Australian two-dollar coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.