The short list
Here are the lowest circulation mintages from the $2 tables below. Anything not here was struck in the millions. These are circulation figures, so coins sold in sets and packs aren't counted.
- 2012 Remembrance Day red poppy: 500,000
- 2013 Coronation: 1,000,000
- 2015 100 Years of ANZAC: 1,460,000
- 2018 Armistice Centenary: 1,700,000
- 2011 regular date: 1,800,000
- 2014 Remembrance Day: 1,850,000
- 2019 Jody Clark portrait: 2,000,000
Lowest mintage $2 circulation dates
| # | Coin | Year | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011 Australian $2 Coin | 2011 | 1,800,000 | Small premium |
| 2 | 2019 Australian $2 Coin (Clark portrait) | 2019 | 2,000,000 | Small premium |
| 3 | 1993 Australian $2 Coin | 1993 | 4,900,000 | Face value |
| 4 | 2024 Australian $2 Coin | 2024 | 5,202,000 | Face value |
| 5 | 2000 Australian $2 Coin | 2000 | 5,700,000 | Face value |
| 6 | 2012 Australian $2 Coin | 2012 | 5,900,000 | Face value |
| 7 | 1998 Australian $2 Coin | 1998 | 8,700,000 | Face value |
| 8 | 1990 Australian $2 Coin | 1990 | 10,300,000 | Face value |
| 9 | 2019 Australian $2 Coin (Rank-Broadley portrait) | 2019 | 10,600,000 | Face value |
| 10 | 2016 Australian $2 Coin | 2016 | 12,900,000 | Face value |
The 2012 red poppy
This is the coin people mean when they talk about rare $2 coins. It commemorates Remembrance Day with a poppy, the flower worn to honor those who died in war. It was the first colored $2. Only 500,000 were made. The same design without color had 5,800,000, so check yours has the red center. If the red is intact and bright, that counts for more than anything else. It carries a collector premium even in circulated condition.
The 2013 Coronation and the 2011 date
The purple-striped 2013 coin marked the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation, with 1,000,000 made. Plenty were saved, but it's still one of the scarcer colored coins. Look for the purple stripes in the center.
The 2011 coin is the surprise: it's the ordinary Aboriginal elder design, so people spend it without a second look. At 1,800,000 it's the lowest regular date, well below any other full year. Check every 2011 you see. Plenty of 2011 coins are still out there in tills, which makes it one of the more likely finds on this list.
Portraits and initials: the 2019 split and HH
In 2019 Jody Clark's new portrait of the Queen replaced Ian Rank-Broadley's partway through the year. Only 2,000,000 of the 2019 $2 coins carry the Clark portrait, against 10,600,000 with Rank-Broadley's. To tell them apart, look under the portrait for the designer's initials: JC for Clark, IRB for Rank-Broadley.
Coins dated 1988 and 1989 carry Horst Hahne's initials, HH. You'll often see them advertised as special. They aren't scarce: the 1988 run alone was 160,900,000 and 1989 added 31,600,000. The initials simply tell you it's one of the first two years.
Other dates worth a second look
A second tier of regular dates had mintages around five million, well below the usual run. None is scarce enough to carry much of a premium worn, but they're worth keeping in sharp condition:
- 1993: 4,900,000
- 2024: 5,202,000
- 2000: 5,700,000
- 2012: 5,900,000
Checking condition before you get excited
Online listings for these coins often show hopeful numbers that nobody paid. Look at completed sales and compare coins in the same condition as yours. For colored coins, chips and fading in the color matter a great deal. Cleaning makes things worse. The likely range is a small premium for most of this list and a collector premium for the red poppy. Colored coins pulled from circulation often show small chips at the edge of the color, so judge yours against other coins from change, not against pristine pack coins.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2012 red poppy $2 rare?
It's the scarcest circulating $2, with 500,000 made. Make sure yours is the colored version, since the uncolored coin had 5,800,000.
Is the 2011 $2 coin rare?
It's the lowest regular date at 1,800,000, so it's well worth keeping. It carries a small premium, more in sharp condition.
How do you tell which 2019 $2 you have?
Look for initials under the Queen's portrait. JC means Jody Clark, the scarcer version with 2,000,000 made. IRB means Ian Rank-Broadley.
Are HH $2 coins rare?
No. HH marks the 1988 and 1989 coins. Well over 190 million were made across those two years.
Is the purple $2 coin rare?
The 2013 Coronation coin had 1,000,000 made, so it's scarce but not rare. Good color and few marks make the most difference.
Are the Rio Olympic $2 coins rare?
Not really. Each of the five colors had 2,000,000 made, the same as the Paralympic coin. They're popular as a set but carry little premium on their own.
Mintage figures from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint, Royal Canadian Mint and Royal Australian Mint figures. Sources.