The Royal Australian Mint was a hive of activity after the official closing time on New Year’s Eve, as more than 600 people gathered in the hope of being chosen to make the last coin of 2023.
Justin Maloney, from Melbourne, was picked from hundreds in the ballot to become today’s history maker and mint the final coin.
The highly anticipated Last Coin of the Year event has become a yearly tradition where people from all around the country flock to Canberra in the hope of being the lucky person to mint the final coin.
In decommissioning the 2023 Creatures of the Deep Mintmark suite, Mint CEO Leigh Gordon highlighted the historical significance of today’s event.
“The last coin of the year is a long-standing tradition for the Mint, and this year is no exception.
“For the past 12 months we have partnered with the national science agency CSRIO to showcase the marine life that calls the southern and eastern coastlines home.
“Not only do we say goodbye to this very popular theme, we also place into the Australian history vaults the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II that has been used on our gallery presses for more than 12 months,” Mr Gordon said.
The Royal Australian Mint is holding its popular First Coin of the Year Event tomorrow morning, before the Mint opens for the day.
A ballot will be held just after 8am to choose the lucky winner who will make the first coin anywhere in the world for 2024, and became the only person in Australia to take home the very first collectible commemorative coin featuring the new King Charles III effigy.
