Australian 1988 Uncirculated Mint Set
The Set
The 1988 mint set celebrated the Bicentenary of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, and it is a landmark of the series in almost every respect. It was the first eight-coin year set, adding the new two dollar coin to the seven denominations of the 1985-87 sets; it carries the highest mintage of any year set, at 250,000; and, unusually, it contains two commemorative designs at once, on the one dollar and the fifty cent. The issue price jumped to $12.00, reflecting both the extra coins and the grandest packaging the series had yet seen.
The Coins
The eight coins - 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, one dollar and two dollars - are sealed in a colourful fold-out presentation pack through which both sides of every coin can be seen. The newcomer is the two dollar coin, introduced in 1988 to replace the two dollar note, its reverse of the Aboriginal elder designed by Horst Hahne, whose HH initials appear on the coin. The two dollar coin of the set is a first-year type that gives the set much of its appeal.
The two commemoratives mark the Bicentenary: the one dollar carries a commemorative reverse honouring the First Fleet, and the fifty cent shows a sailing ship passing over an early chart of the east coast of Australia. The remaining five coins carry their standard Stuart Devlin reverses, and all eight are struck with the Raphael Maklouf obverse portrait of the Queen.
A Record Mintage
At 250,000 sets, the 1988 issue remains the highest-mintage year set ever released, and the figure has never been approached since. The Bicentenary celebrations brought record numbers of new collectors into the hobby, and the set was among the Mint's bestsellers of the era. Intact examples remain inexpensive today and make an excellent type set of the period, bringing together the first-year two dollar coin and two Bicentenary commemoratives in a single sealed pack.
| Set details | |
|---|---|
| Packaging | Sealed fold-out presentation pack, see-both-sides |
| Coins | 8 (1 cent to 2 dollars) |
| Commemorative designs | Bicentenary 1 dollar and 50 cent |
| Mintage | 250,000 (series record) |
| Issue price | $12.00 |
| File:Australian UNC Set 1988 packaging.jpg | File:Australian UNC Set 1988 coins.jpg | The 1988 Bicentenary set: eight coins in the fold-out presentation pack. |
| File:Australian UNC Set 1988 Bicentenary 1 dollar.jpg | The Bicentenary commemorative one dollar. |
