Australian 1970 Uncirculated Mint Set
The Set
The 1970 mint set marked the bicentenary of Captain James Cook's charting of the east coast of Australia in 1770, and it holds an important place in the series: it was the first Australian year set to contain a commemorative coin. The six coins are housed unsealed in a red plastic wallet in the style of the day, the issue price was $2.00, and the mintage was 40,230 sets - the highest since the first year of the series.
The Cook Fifty Cent
The commemorative coin of the set is the fifty cent, Stuart Devlin's design carrying a portrait of Captain Cook at left beside a map of Australia, with the dual dates 1770 and 1970. The coin was also released into general circulation, where it made history as Australia's first decimal circulating commemorative, and it remains one of the most widely recognised of all Australian commemorative coins. Within the mint set it takes the place of the standard Coat of Arms fifty cent, while the remaining five coins - the 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent and 20 cent - carry their standard designs with the Arnold Machin obverse.
The Cook theme ran across the Mint's 1970 collector program, which included the corresponding proof set and small VIP presentation editions of the commemorative for dignitaries. For collectors of the year set series, however, the standard red wallet issue is the one to find, and intact examples with undamaged wallets and untarnished coins are worth seeking out.
| Set details | |
|---|---|
| Packaging | Red plastic wallet, coins unsealed |
| Coins | 6 (1 cent to 50 cent) |
| Commemorative design | Captain Cook Bicentenary 50 cent |
| Mintage | 40,230 |
| Issue price | $2.00 |
| File:Australian UNC Set 1970 packaging.jpg | File:Australian UNC Set 1970 coins.jpg | The 1970 set in its red wallet, with the Captain Cook commemorative fifty cent heading the coins. |
| File:Australian UNC Set 1970 Cook 50c.jpg | The Captain Cook bicentenary fifty cent, Stuart Devlin's portrait of the navigator beside a map of Australia. |
