2008 Subscription Coin :1921 Kookaburra Penny

The 2008 Subscription Coin is a wonderful combination of the past and the present in Australian coin production. The past is captured in a reproduction design of the 1921 Type 12 Kookaburra Penny, a coin that never officially went into circulation, the original is still very highly valued among coin collectors. The present is represented by the spirit of modern innovation in coin design; Wojciech Pietranik one of the Mint’s senior designers has created animated elements that almost give life to the coin itself. In 1919 a directive was given from the then Treasurer, William Watt to commence trial strikes of lighter and harder wearing copper nickel square pennies, as an eventual replacement for the bronze, round and half pennies already in circulation. The project lasted only three years, with ten varying designs trialled; eventually these coins were presented to leading dignitaries, but never introduced into circulation.