2016 Rio Paralympics $2 Coin
The 2016 Rio Paralympics $2 is a circulating $2 coin with 2 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2016
- Circulation mintage
- 2,000,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- 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 Paralympics $2 worth?
At 2 million, the 2016 Rio Paralympics $2 has a smaller run than most $2 coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. On colored coins the paint has to be intact: a worn or chipped color panel cuts the premium sharply. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
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 Paralympics $2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most $2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2016 Rio Paralympics $2 coins were made?
- 2,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2016 Rio Paralympics $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 Paralympics $2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every $2 coin, colored commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
Why the 2016 Rio Paralympics $2 was made
Alongside its five Olympic coins, the Royal Australian Mint issued a single colored $2 for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Australia has long been one of the strongest nations at the Paralympics and the coin gave the team its own place in the Rio promotion. The Paralympics followed the Olympics in September 2016, in the same city and with many of the same venues.
The circulation mintage was 2,000,000, the same as each individual Olympic design. Like the Olympic coins, it was released through a supermarket promotion with collectible cards to hold it, so it reached the public in the same way and often ended up stored alongside the Olympic set. Because it is a single design rather than one of five, people building a Rio collection sometimes forget about it and it's worth checking any colored 2016 coin closely to see which Games it belongs to. Together with the Olympic coins, it makes a group of six designs from the same year. It also carries the same 2016 date.
How to recognize it
Unlike the single color Olympic coins, the Paralympic $2 uses several colors on the reverse: green, yellow, red and blue together on one coin. That multi-colored look is the easiest way to tell it apart from the five Olympic designs. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Elizabeth II with IRB under the neck and the date 2016. Size, weight and metal are standard for the denomination at 20.5 mm, 6.6 g and aluminum bronze. If you find a green and yellow coin with a 2020 date instead, that's the Tokyo Paralympic coin. The colors sit close together, so a magnifier helps when checking for wear.
2016 Rio Paralympics $2 by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2016 Rio Paralympics $2 ranks 6th lowest of 13 commemorative $2 releases with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2014 Remembrance Day $2 (1.85 million); the next more common is the 2017 Remembrance (Rosemary) $2 (2.1 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 with 10 million, about 5 times as many. The scarcest is the 2012 Remembrance Day Red Poppy $2 with 500,000, 4 times fewer than this one.
2016 brought 3 other circulating $2 coin designs: the 50 Years of Decimal Currency (2.88 million), the Rio Olympics (10 million) and the 2016 Australian $2 (12.9 million). The 2016 Rio Paralympics $2 was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2016 Rio Paralympics $2
- Confirm the design: Rio Paralympics dated 2016, with the colored panel (Green/Yellow/Red/Blue).
- 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 struck, the Rio Paralympic coin is about as common as any single Rio Olympic design and circulated coins trade near face value. Collectors who want the complete Rio group of six coins value clean examples with all four colors intact, since the small areas of color wear unevenly. Coins left in their original card hold up best. Never clean one: the different colors can come away at different rates and leave a patchy coin. Check the smallest color patches first, since they go before the larger ones.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 2016 |
| Circulation mintage | 2,000,000 |
| Composition | Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel) |
| Weight | 6.6 g |
| Diameter | 20.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Interrupted milling |
| Colors | Green/Yellow/Red/Blue |
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 Olympics $2 Coin | 10,000,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Paralympic $2 coin for Rio 2016?
Yes. A single colored $2 was issued for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, with green, yellow, red and blue on the reverse and a mintage of 2,000,000. It was released alongside the five Olympic designs.
How do I tell the Rio Paralympic coin from the Olympic coins?
The Paralympic coin combines several colors on one reverse, while each Olympic coin uses a single ring color. Both share the 2016 date and the Rank-Broadley portrait. Its date and portrait are the same as the Olympic coins.
Mintage figures: Australian two-dollar coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.