2019-06-10 Mon

The Royal Australian Mint released a $5 & Half Dollar Proof Domed Coin, a $5 Nickel Plated Fine Silver Proof Domed coloured Coin (first of its kind), and a $100 Gold Proof Domed Coin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. These coins are a part of a collaborative set with the United States Mint and are dedicated to the scientists who worked on the transmission of Apollo 11 in Australia. Important dignitaries from Royal Australian Mint, CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope etc. were present during the coin launch ceremony.

The obverse side depicts the CSIRO Parkes radio telescope pointed towards the Moon, receiving television signals of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. An excerpt from the transcript of Commander Neil Armstrong’s journal of the lunar landing is also featured. Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy is inside a circle. The reverse side depicts an astronaut standing on the Moon’s surface, lunar module Eagle in the background, Earth in colour in the sky where Australia’s map is facing the Moon. The journey of Apollo 11 is traced in the sky.

The two-coin set of $5 & Half Dollar Proof Domed Coins have a mintage limit of 10,000 and can be purchased for $195 AUD. The nickel plated domed coin has a mintage limit of 10,000 pieces and costs $150. The gold proof coin has a mintage limit of 750 pieces and costs $2,795. A Six-Coin Year Sets in proof and uncirculated finishes are also available. They feature imagery of the transmission of the Moon landing at Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in 1969. The proof set costs $100 and the uncirculated set costs $25.

Australian teams at NASA’s Honeysuckle Creek tracking station near Canberra and CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope in NSW were responsible for the successful telecast of this historic event to 100 million people globally. Australia and CSIRO are leaders in radio astronomy and antenna design. They also have a strategic geographic location to carry out space missions.

Image Courtesy: Royal Australian Mint