During the Australian Gold Rush the Royal Mint allowed for the construction of a local mint
in Sydney to process the raw gold into Sovereigns and Half Sovereigns. In 1855 the Sydney
Mint produced its first half sovereign. The Royal Australian Mint has commemorated 150 years since this piece was
struck with the release of this One Dollar piece. The reverse design
includes a golden depiction of the half sovereigns reverse design. This
design is housed within an outer silver ring that includes the dates "1855" and "2005" and the denomination "ONE DOLLAR."
The obverse features a golden depiction of the half sovereigns
The piece was released as part of the subscription dollar series which ran yearly between 1996 and 2011 with the exception of 2001. The subscription series was distinct from others as each issue was made to order. This meant that the total mintage was limited to the number of orders that had been made in advance of mintage. The series commemorated Australian numismatic history with a number of significant designs being re-struck as well as coins celebrating milestones such as a century of Australian coinage.