2019 Australian $2 Coin (Clark portrait)
The 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) 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
- 2019
- 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 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) worth?
At 2 million, the 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) has a smaller run than most $2 coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition
- A mint roll or set coin
- A genuine mint error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) rare?
- It is scarcer than most $2 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) coins were made?
- 2,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) made of?
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel). It weighs 6.6 g and measures 20.5 mm.
- Is the 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) still legal tender?
- Yes. Every $2 coin, colored commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
The 2019 $2 coin in context
In 2019 Australia changed the portrait on its coins from Ian Rank-Broadley's effigy of Elizabeth II to the newer one by Jody Clark, an engraver at the Royal Mint in Britain. The switch happened partway through the year, so the 2019 $2 exists in two versions. The Rank-Broadley coins came first and make up most of the year's output at 10.6 million. Only 2.0 million were struck with Clark's portrait. Clark's effigy had first appeared on British coins in 2015, so Australia adopted it a few years later.
That makes the Clark 2019 one of the two hardest regular $2 dates to find, second only to the 1.8 million of 2011. It also has a story the 2011 lacks, as the first $2 with the final portrait of the Queen used on Australian coins. Plenty of people still don't realize the two 2019 versions exist, which is why it's worth checking any 2019 coin that crosses your hands. Both versions were released into circulation the normal way, through the banks, so nothing in the change itself warned people they were holding the scarcer coin.
How to recognize it
The way to tell the two apart is the portrait and the initials under the neck. Clark's portrait shows an older Queen wearing a diadem, with JC below the neck. Rank-Broadley's shows her in a tiara with IRB. Both read ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2019. The reverse is the same on both: Horst Hahne's Aboriginal elder, modeled on Gwoya Jungarai, with the Southern Cross stars and grass trees. Use a magnifier if the initials are worn, since the portraits look similar at arm's length. Clark's portrait also shows more lines around the Queen's face, reflecting her age when it was made.
2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait) ranks 2nd lowest of 36 circulation dates of the $2 coin. The next scarcer is the 2011 Australian $2 (1.8 million); the next more common is the 1993 Australian $2 (4.9 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1988 Australian $2 with 160.9 million, about 80 times as many. The scarcest is the 2011 Australian $2 with 1.8 million.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2019 output was 7.3 times fewer than 2018 and 8.1 times fewer than 2020.
What to check on your 2019 Australian $2 (Clark portrait)
- Confirm the date 2019 and the portrait on the other side (this page is for the Clark portrait).
- 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.
Set aside every Clark 2019 $2 you find. Even circulated coins carry a small premium because of the 2.0 million mintage and uncirculated examples draw a collector premium. Collectors usually want both 2019 versions side by side and the Rank-Broadley one is easy to find, so the Clark coin is the one that completes the pair. Handle them by the edges and keep them out of coin jars, where they rub against other coins and lose detail quickly. Check every 2019 coin in a jar before banking it.
Jody Clark portrait: the last years of the Queen (2019 to 2023)
Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II reached Australian coins in 2019. Clark was an engraver at the Royal Mint in Britain and his effigy had been in use on British coins since 2015. On the Australian $2 it shows the Queen wearing a diadem, with his JC initials below the neck. Because the change came during 2019, that year's $2 was struck with both the Rank-Broadley and Clark portraits. Only 2.0 million carry Clark's.
That small figure is what makes this short era interesting. The Clark 2019 coin sits alongside 2011 as one of the hardest regular dates to find in change, while 16.1 million followed in 2020 and 13.9 million in 2021. The 2022 date rose to 32,252,000. No $2 coins were struck for circulation in 2023, so the Queen's run on the denomination ends with the 2022 date. Coins with Clark's portrait are the last Australian $2 coins of Elizabeth II's reign.
Colored commemoratives kept coming during these years, including designs for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Women's T20 World Cup, firefighters, ambulance workers and the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal flag. Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022. Coins bearing her portrait were not withdrawn: they remain legal tender and will stay in change alongside the new King's coins for many years. Clark's effigy appeared on every regular $2 from late 2019 through 2022.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 2019 |
| 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 |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2019 $2 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 Australian $2 Coin (Rank-Broadley portrait) | 10,600,000 | Face value |
| 2019 Mr Squiggle $2 Coin | – | Face value |
| 2019 National Police Remembrance Day $2 Coin | – | Face value |
| 2019 Wallabies Rugby World Cup $2 Coin | – | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my 2019 $2 has the Jody Clark portrait?
Look under the Queen's neck. JC means Jody Clark and is the scarcer version with 2.0 million made. IRB means Ian Rank-Broadley, the common version with 10.6 million. The reverse is identical on both coins.
Why are there two 2019 $2 coins?
Australia changed to Jody Clark's portrait of the Queen during 2019, so coins struck before and after the change carry different portraits. Most were made with the older Rank-Broadley effigy before the switch.
Mintage figures: Australian two-dollar coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.