2003 Women's Suffrage $1 Coin
The 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 is a circulating $1 coin with 10 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2003
- Circulation mintage
- 10,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 worth?
10 million were made, so the 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition
- An original mint roll, card or set
- A genuine mint error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 rare?
- No. 10 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 coins were made?
- 10,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 made of?
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel). It weighs 9 g and measures 25 mm.
- Is the 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every $1 coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
Why the 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 was made
In 1902 the new federal parliament passed a law giving most adult women the right to vote and to stand for election to the federal parliament. The first federal election under the new rules was held in December 1903, when women voted nationally for the first time and four women stood as candidates. Australia was among the first countries in the world to grant both rights. The law excluded most Aboriginal people, however. It was decades before all Aboriginal Australians had the same voting rights.
In 2003 the Royal Australian Mint marked the centenary of women's suffrage with a commemorative $1. The circulation mintage was 10,000,000. The design drew on a famous image from the suffrage movement, a banner painted by Australian artist Dora Meeson Coates. The banner was carried in a suffrage procession in London in 1908 to show British women what Australian women had already achieved. Today the banner is held at Parliament House in Canberra. The coin was issued in the same year as the Volunteers dollar. Together they made 2003 a year of coins about citizenship and community.
How to recognize it
The reverse is by Vladimir Gottwald of the Royal Australian Mint. It shows female figures based on the Dora Meeson Coates suffrage banner, which depicted a young Australia appealing to Britannia. Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse in Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait, dated 2003. Its diameter is 25 mm and its weight 9 g, the same aluminum bronze format and interrupted milled edge as any other dollar. The figures are the identifying feature. If you have a 2003 dollar showing a map of Australia instead, it's the Volunteers coin. The figures fill much of the coin and the lettering refers to the centenary of women's suffrage. Because the design is detailed, it shows wear quickly in the faces and the folds of the robes. Even so, the overall shape of the figures remains recognizable on most circulated coins.
2003 Women's Suffrage $1 by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 ranks 11th lowest of 27 circulating $1 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 CHOGM Perth $1 (9.4 million); the next more common is the 2020 Donation Dollar $1 (12.5 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2002 Year of the Outback $1 with 35.4 million, about 3.5 times as many. The scarcest is the 2016 50 Years of Decimal Currency $1 with 560,000, 18 times fewer than this one.
It shared 2003 with 1 other circulating $1 coin design: the Australia's Volunteers (4.1 million). The 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 was the most plentiful of the year.
What to check on your 2003 Women's Suffrage $1
- Confirm the design and date: Women's Suffrage dated 2003.
- Check the shape and size: the $1 is round, 25 mm across, gold-colored and weighs 9 g.
- Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from mint rolls or sets have unbroken luster; change-worn coins show scuffs on the high points.
- Never clean it. Polishing leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
At 10 million, this is a moderately common coin and circulated examples are face value. Uncirculated coins with sharp detail in the figures and bright color can carry a small premium. The figures' faces and robes show wear first. This dollar pairs naturally with other coins about rights and democracy in Australia, such as the 2017 Mabo and referendum 50c. Look for a coin with clean fields, sharp faces and even golden color. Coins from the 2003 mint set are usually the best preserved. A worn coin is still a good keepsake for anyone interested in women's history. Avoid cleaning any aluminum bronze coin, which leaves fine scratches.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 2003 |
| Circulation mintage | 10,000,000 |
| Composition | Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel) |
| Weight | 9 g |
| Diameter | 25 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Interrupted milling |
Other 2003 $1 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 Australia's Volunteers $1 Coin | 4,100,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What does the 2003 Women's Suffrage $1 commemorate?
It marks 100 years since the 1903 federal election, the first in which Australian women could vote nationally and stand for federal parliament, under a law passed in 1902. The coin's circulation mintage was 10,000,000.
What is the design on the 2003 suffrage dollar?
It shows female figures from a suffrage banner painted by Dora Meeson Coates. The banner was carried in a London procession in 1908 to show British women what Australian women had already won. Vladimir Gottwald sculpted the coin.
Mintage figures: Australian one-dollar coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.