2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c Coin
The 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c is a circulating 50c coin with 2.2 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2001
- Circulation mintage
- 2,200,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% 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 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c worth?
At 2.2 million, the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c has a smaller run than most 50c coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with no bag marks
- An original mint roll or set
- A recognized variety or genuine error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c rare?
- It is scarcer than most 50c coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c coins were made?
- 2,200,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c made of?
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). It weighs 15.55 g and measures 31.65 mm, with a 12-sided shape.
- Is the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 50c coin, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Australia.
Why the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c was made
Tasmania was one of the keenest supporters of federation. Andrew Inglis Clark, a Tasmanian lawyer and politician, prepared a draft constitution for the 1891 convention that influenced the final document. The island's voters backed the union by large margins. For a small colony separated from the mainland by Bass Strait, joining a federation promised free trade with the bigger colonies and a stronger voice. Tasmania entered the Commonwealth with the others on 1 January 1901.
The Tasmanian 50c had a circulation mintage of 2,200,000, the same as Norfolk Island. Its 20c partner was designed by Abbey MacDonald of Launceston Church Grammar School. Both were sold with the $1 in a Tasmanian three-coin set. The coin has a special appeal because of the animals on the arms. The thylacine, often called the Tasmanian tiger, is believed to have died out in the twentieth century, with the last known animal dying in Hobart in 1936. The coin gives it a quiet place in everyday change, a century after the colony that adopted it as a symbol joined the Commonwealth.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows the Tasmanian coat of arms, supported by two thylacines with their distinctive striped backs. The shield shows a sheaf of wheat, apples, hops and a ram, reflecting the island's farming. A red lion holding a pick and shovel sits above, a nod to mining. The motto UBERTAS ET FIDELITAS, fertility and faithfulness, appears on the scroll. Around the rim are CENTENARY OF FEDERATION, 1901 2001, TASMANIA and FIFTY CENTS. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse. The striped animals on either side of the shield identify the Tasmanian coin straight away, even on a worn example where the lettering is hard to read.
2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c ranks 6th lowest of 32 circulating 50c coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Norfolk Island 50c (2.2 million); the next more common is the 2001 Centenary of Federation: Queensland 50c (2.3 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games 50c with 49.6 million, about 23 times as many. The scarcest is the 2017 1967 Referendum and Mabo 50c with 1.4 million, 1.6 times fewer than this one.
It shared 2001 with 9 other circulating 50c coin designs, from the Centenary of Federation: ACT (2 million) up to the Centenary of Federation (43.1 million). 2 of them had a smaller run.
What to check on your 2001 Centenary of Federation: Tasmania 50c
- Confirm the design and date: Centenary of Federation: Tasmania dated 2001.
- Check the shape and size: the 50c is 12-sided, 31.65 mm across and weighs 15.55 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 2.2 million, the Tasmanian coin is among the lower mintages in the Federation series. Worn examples are mostly face value, while uncirculated coins draw a small premium. The stripes on the thylacines are fine detail and fade quickly with wear, so a coin that still shows them clearly is a good one. Because the thylacine is such a popular subject, this coin tends to be the one people keep even when they don't collect the rest of the set. Store it in a flip and handle it by the edges.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Australian Mint |
| Year | 2001 |
| Circulation mintage | 2,200,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 15.55 g |
| Diameter | 31.65 mm |
| Shape | 12-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
Other 2001 50c coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 Centenary of Federation 50c Coin | 43,100,000 | Face value |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: ACT 50c Coin | 2,000,000 | Small premium |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: New South Wales 50c Coin | 3,000,000 | Small premium |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: Norfolk Island 50c Coin | 2,200,000 | Small premium |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: Northern Territory 50c Coin | 2,100,000 | Small premium |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: Queensland 50c Coin | 2,300,000 | Small premium |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: South Australia 50c Coin | 2,400,000 | Small premium |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: Victoria 50c Coin | 2,800,000 | Small premium |
| 2001 Centenary of Federation: Western Australia 50c Coin | 2,400,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Is that a Tasmanian tiger on the 2001 Tasmania 50c?
Yes. Two thylacines, also called Tasmanian tigers, support the Tasmanian coat of arms on the coin. The animal is believed to be extinct, with the last known thylacine dying in Hobart in 1936.
How rare is the 2001 Tasmania 50c?
It is one of the lower mintage Federation coins at 2,200,000, the same figure as Norfolk Island, but it is not rare. Circulated coins are mostly face value, while sharp uncirculated examples carry a small premium.
Mintage figures: Australian fifty-cent coin (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Australian Mint figures. How we build these pages.