In 2012, the Royal Australian Mint released a two dollar coin unlike anything previously issued for Australian general circulation: the Remembrance Day coin, with a red poppy in applied colour on the reverse. It was intended to mark the centenary of the ANZAC tradition and to bring a moment of national remembrance into the daily transaction of everyday commerce.

Australians were captivated by it. The coin circulated widely, was saved deliberately by people who had never collected coins before, and established the coloured circulating two dollar as a series that has continued with new issues each year since. Understanding the series — its issues, its mintages, and its collecting significance — is now an essential part of decimal collecting.

The Major Issues

2012 — The Red Poppy. The first coloured circulating two dollar coin in Australian history. Issued for Remembrance Day, the coin carries a red poppy in applied colour against the standard gold-ringed two dollar field. Mintage was significant — distributed through RSL branches and general circulation — but the coin's cultural resonance drove immediate demand. Uncirculated examples with undamaged colour are notably more difficult to find than the mintage figure alone suggests.

2013 — The Purple Coronation. Issued to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, this coin carries a purple motif referencing the coronation regalia. Lower mintage than the Red Poppy and less widely distributed, making it consistently the more challenging issue to find in uncirculated condition.

Subsequent issues. The series has continued annually with new subjects — ANZAC Day commemoratives, significant national events, and celebration of Australian themes. Each year introduces a new design in the coloured format, maintaining the series' appeal to both established collectors and the much larger audience of Australians who save the coloured coins without necessarily identifying themselves as collectors.

The Colour Technology

The colour on circulating coloured two dollar coins is applied using a pad-printing process — a technique adapted from industrial printing that allows a controlled, thin application of colour to a metallic surface. The colour is applied after striking and is a surface treatment rather than part of the coin's composition.

The durability of this treatment in circulation is limited. Coins that have circulated extensively show wear, fading, and in some cases partial loss of the colour application. For collecting purposes, the condition of the colour is as significant as the condition of the metal — a coin with perfect metal surfaces but heavily faded colour is not an uncirculated example in any meaningful collecting sense.

Coloured coins are also more sensitive to UV exposure than standard cupro-nickel. Direct sunlight will fade the applied colour over time. For storage, the same considerations that apply to any coloured coin apply here: archival capsules, indirect light, stable humidity. The colour, once faded, cannot be restored.

Collecting the Series

A complete coloured two dollar series — every issue from 2012 to present, in uncirculated condition with intact colour — is a collecting project that rewards both patience and organisation. The series is active and growing, with new issues each year, making it one of the few areas of decimal collecting where the collection is never finished. For context on significant issues within the series, see our guide to key dates in Australian decimal coinage. For the collector who wants a living, growing project within the decimal canon, the coloured two dollar series is one of the most satisfying available.