Australian 1969 Uncirculated Mint Set
The Set
The 1969 mint set was the second decimal year set and the first of the continuous annual series that has run ever since: no sets were issued for 1967 or 1968, because no Australian decimal coin carries either date. As before, it contained the six circulating denominations from the 1 cent to the 50 cent, with the coins housed unsealed in a plastic wallet. The issue price remained $1.50, and the official mintage was 31,176 sets.
The Two Wallets
Collectors recognise two varieties of the 1969 set, distinguished only by the colour of the wallet: 16,825 sets were issued in a red wallet and 14,351 in blue, and the two figures together account for the full mintage. The blue wallet is slightly scarcer and carries a modest premium, but the difference is one of packaging alone - the coins are identical. Both wallets follow the simple style of the era, with the six loose coins held in individual pockets behind a printed cover.
The Coins
The set is the first year set to contain the dodecagonal fifty cent coin, which replaced the short-lived round silver original in 1969. All six coins carry the Arnold Machin obverse and Stuart Devlin's standard reverses, so the set has no commemorative designs. The 1969 date is nonetheless an interesting one for the mint set collector: the 2 cent, 10 cent and 20 cent coins were struck for circulation in comparatively small numbers that year, so intact sets remain a principal source of choice uncirculated examples with full original lustre.
| Set details | |
|---|---|
| Packaging | Plastic wallet, coins unsealed - red or blue |
| Coins | 6 (1 cent to 50 cent) |
| Commemorative designs | None |
| Mintage | 31,176 (16,825 red, 14,351 blue) |
| Issue price | $1.50 |
| File:Australian UNC Set 1969 packaging.jpg | File:Australian UNC Set 1969 coins.jpg | The 1969 set: six unsealed coins in their plastic wallet. |
| File:Australian UNC Set 1969 blue wallet.jpg | The scarcer blue wallet variety. Mintage 14,351. |
