2018 Armistice Centenary $2 Coin
The 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 is a circulating $2 coin with 1.7 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2018
- Circulation mintage
- 1,700,000
- 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 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 worth?
At 1.7 million, the 2018 Armistice Centenary $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 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 rare?
- It is scarcer than most $2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 coins were made?
- 1,700,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 made of?
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel). It weighs 6.6 g and measures 20.5 mm.
- Is the 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every $2 coin, colored commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
Why the 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 was made
At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the Armistice came into force and the guns fell silent on the Western Front, ending the fighting of the First World War. The moment is remembered every year on Remembrance Day and in 2018 it reached its hundredth anniversary. For the families of Australians who served, the news brought relief, though many soldiers did not return home until 1919. The Royal Australian Mint marked the centenary with a red colored $2 coin, closing its run of First World War centenary commemoratives.
The circulation mintage was 1,700,000. That's lower than most remembrance coins in the series, such as the 2014 green coin at 1,850,000 and the 2018 Eternal Flame at 3,400,000, though well above the 500,000 red poppy of 2012. Because it shares its red color with the 2012 poppy and the 2015 Anzac coin, it's often misidentified at a glance, so the date matters. It is one of only five colored $2 coins with a published mintage under two million. The date settles it every time.
How to recognize it
The reverse carries a design marking the Armistice centenary with red as its color, in place of the regular Aboriginal elder. To separate it from the other red $2 coins, read the date on the obverse: this one says 2018, the 2012 red poppy says 2012 and the 100 Years of ANZAC coin says 2015. The obverse uses Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen with IRB under the neck. The coin is the usual 20.5 mm, 6.6 g aluminum bronze $2 with an interrupted milled edge. Worn examples keep red traces in the recessed parts of the design. The color sits flat and even on mint fresh coins.
2018 Armistice Centenary $2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 ranks 4th lowest of 13 commemorative $2 releases with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2015 100 Years of ANZAC $2 (1.46 million); the next more common is the 2014 Remembrance Day $2 (1.85 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2016 Rio Olympics $2 with 10 million, about 5.9 times as many. The scarcest is the 2012 Remembrance Day Red Poppy $2 with 500,000, 3.4 times fewer than this one.
It was released in 2018 alongside 4 other circulating $2 coin designs: the Eternal Flame (3.4 million) and the 2018 Australian $2 (14.6 million). The 2018 Armistice Centenary $2 was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2018 Armistice Centenary $2
- Confirm the design: Armistice Centenary dated 2018, with the colored panel (Red).
- 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 1,700,000 made, the Armistice Centenary is one of the scarcer colored $2 coins with a published mintage and nice examples draw a premium over face value. Color is everything: bright, unbroken red gets attention, while coins with the red rubbed through to the metal sit close to face. Never clean one. Even a damp cloth can lift colored ink from a coin's surface. Collectors often keep it with the 2012 red poppy as the first and last of the war centenary remembrance coins.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 2018 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,700,000 |
| Composition | Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel) |
| Weight | 6.6 g |
| Diameter | 20.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Interrupted milling |
| Colors | Red |
Other 2018 $2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 Australian $2 Coin | 14,600,000 | Face value |
| 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games $2 Coin | – | Face value |
| 2018 Eternal Flame $2 Coin | 3,400,000 | Face value |
| 2018 Invictus Games $2 Coin | – | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What does the 2018 red $2 coin commemorate?
It marks the centenary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, which ended the fighting of the First World War. The red color links it to the poppy, the symbol of Remembrance Day.
How can I tell the Armistice $2 from the red poppy $2?
Check the date. The Armistice Centenary coin is dated 2018, while the red poppy coin is dated 2012. The designs also differ and the poppy coin had only 500,000 made against 1,700,000 for the Armistice coin.
Mintage figures: Australian two-dollar coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.