1989 Australian $2 Coin
The 1989 Australian $2 is a circulating $2 coin with 31.6 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1989
- Circulation mintage
- 31,600,000
- 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 1989 Australian $2 worth?
31.6 million were made, so the 1989 Australian $2 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
- A mint roll or set coin
- 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 1989 Australian $2 rare?
- No. 31.6 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1989 Australian $2 coins were made?
- 31,600,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1989 Australian $2 made of?
- Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel). It weighs 6.6 g and measures 20.5 mm.
- Is the 1989 Australian $2 still legal tender?
- Yes. Every $2 coin, colored commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
The 1989 $2 coin in context
The second year of the $2 coin looks very different on paper. After the 160.9 million coins of 1988 had done the job of replacing the note, the mint only needed to top up supply and the 1989 mintage came in at 31.6 million. That's still a big number, but it marks the point where the $2 settled into ordinary production driven by what banks asked for. By then the coin was a familiar sight in tills and the old notes were steadily disappearing from wallets as banks held them back.
The 1989 date matters to collectors for one reason beyond the mintage: it is the last year in this list where the designer's HH initials appear on the circulation coins. From 1990 the initials are absent. That gives the first two years a small identity of their own and some collectors like to keep a 1988 and a 1989 together as the HH pair. The portrait is still Raphael Maklouf's, which stayed on the coin until 1998. Maklouf's portrait had been on Australian coins since 1985, so it was already familiar from the smaller denominations when the $2 arrived.
How to recognize it
Turn the coin over and check the reverse for the letters HH, Horst Hahne's initials, which are present on 1989 coins. The rest of the design is the familiar Aboriginal elder modeled on Gwoya Jungarai, the Southern Cross stars and grass trees. On the obverse you'll see the Maklouf portrait of the Queen with RDM at the neck and the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 1989. Specifications match the 1988 coin: 20.5 mm, 6.6 g, aluminum bronze, with ridged sections broken by smooth gaps around the edge. If the initials are hard to see, tilt the coin under a desk lamp, because low, angled light shows small lettering far better than overhead light.
1989 Australian $2 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1989 Australian $2 ranks 26th lowest of 36 circulation dates of the $2 coin. The next scarcer is the 2002 Australian $2 (29.7 million); the next more common is the 2022 Australian $2 (32.3 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1988 Australian $2 with 160.9 million, about 5.1 times as many. The scarcest is the 2011 Australian $2 with 1.8 million, 18 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1989 output was 5.1 times fewer than 1988 and 3.1 times the 1990 figure.
What to check on your 1989 Australian $2
- Confirm the date 1989 and the portrait on the other side.
- Look for the designer's initials HH near the elder's arm on the design side; they appear on 1988 and 1989 coins.
- Check the edge: Australian $2 coins have interrupted milling, with sections of reeding separated by smooth gaps.
- Weigh it if you are unsure: a genuine $2 coin weighs 6.6 g and is 20.5 mm across.
A mintage of 31.6 million keeps the 1989 firmly in the common category and worn coins are worth face value. It is a sensible date to pick out of change if you are building a full run, because it is the second of only two HH years and it gets harder to find in nice condition as the years pass. Uncirculated coins with clean fields and crisp stars bring a small premium at most. Check the date carefully, as worn 1989 and 1988 coins are easy to confuse.
Raphael Maklouf portrait: the coin replaces the note (1988 to 1998)
Australia's $2 coin went into circulation in June 1988, taking over from the green $2 note that had been part of decimal currency since 1966. Notes wear out quickly when they pass through thousands of hands while a coin can stay in use for decades, so the swap made sense for a denomination people spent every day. It followed the $1 coin of 1984 and left Australia with a quirk that still catches visitors out: the $2 coin is smaller than the $1.
Horst Hahne designed the reverse and it has never changed. It shows an Aboriginal elder modeled on Gwoya Jungarai, the Central Australian man whose photograph had already appeared on a 1950 postage stamp, set against the stars of the Southern Cross and Australian grass trees. The coin measures 20.5 mm across, weighs 6.6 g and is struck in aluminum bronze with an interrupted milled edge, so the ridges run in bands with smooth gaps between them. On the 1988 and 1989 dates you'll find Hahne's HH initials on the reverse.
The obverse of this first run carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II wearing the George IV State Diadem, with his RDM initials at the base of the neck. Output started with a flood of 160.9 million coins in 1988, enough to replace the notes, then dropped sharply. No circulation coins were struck in 1991 and the 1993 date stopped at 4.9 million, which makes it the scarce year of this portrait. The era closed with 8.7 million in 1998.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 1989 |
| Circulation mintage | 31,600,000 |
| Composition | Aluminum bronze (92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel) |
| Weight | 6.6 g |
| Diameter | 20.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Interrupted milling |
Frequently asked questions
How many 1989 $2 coins were made?
The 1989 circulation mintage was 31.6 million. That's far fewer than the 160.9 million of 1988 but still plenty, so the coin is common. It only stands out as the second and last date with the HH initials.
Does the 1989 $2 coin have the HH initials?
Yes. Horst Hahne's HH initials appear on the reverse of 1989 coins, just as on 1988 coins. Dates from 1990 onward don't carry them, which is why collectors often keep the first two years as a pair.
Mintage figures: Australian two-dollar coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.