King Charles coins confirmed for 2023
Coins bearing the head of King Charles III will enter circulation in Australia "sometime in 2023", the federal government announced today.
Assistant Minister for Treasury Andrew Leigh said more than 15 billion coins with Queen Elizabeth II's effigy had been minted since Australia's decimal currency switch in 1966.
But there will be one slight difference in the new coins featuring the head of King Charles III - it will face left.
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Assistant Treasury Minister Andrew Leigh has confirmed that coins bearing the head of King Charles III will enter circulation in Australia next year. Nine
The tweak follows tradition dating back to the 1600s that stipulates each new king or queen must alternate the direction of their gaze.
"It will be a remarkable moment when Australia moves from having, not a queen on the coin, but the King," he said.
Leigh also reassured Australians the coins featuring the Queen's effigy would remain legal tender.
He said the prospect of designing new coins that could serve a monarchy or a republic had not been part of discussions between the Treasury and the Royal Australian Mint.
Under a potential republic, he said, previously-minted coins were very likely to remain legal tender even with a monarch's effigy.
A conversation about replacing the Queen on the $5 note is one for the future, Leigh said.
Asked whether the Queen's face could be replaced with that of a prominent Indigenous Australian such as Eddie Mabo, Leigh said it would be an issue for Parliament to look at in the future.
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Australian coins bearing the head of King Charles III, right, will be released in 2023, officials said. Today
Meanwhile, he confirmed there was no plan to mint any coins next year with Queen Elizabeth's effigy on them.
There will be some 2023 Elizabeth coins, "collection and investment" items that are traditionally issued in September.
Mint CEO Leigh Gordon said the Mint still put 120 million to 140 million coins into circulation each year.
Five cent, 10 cent and 20 cent pieces are these days produced at a loss, with the manufacture of a five-cent piece costing around 12 cents depending on the price of metal.
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