Future of five cent coin up in the air as Treasurer Chalmers leaves door open to scrapping smallest change
The five-cent piece could be an endangered species after Jim Chalmers left the door open to scrapping Australia’s smallest small change.
As he flagged a move to ensure cash is still accepted at all shops selling essential items like groceries and petrol, the Treasurer said the Government’s thinking about what were the appropriate denominations for Australian money “evolves over time”.
“We keep it under constant review,” he said when asked about the fate of the copper-nickel coin.
The Mint produced 10 million five-cent coins with the new King Charles III effigy on them in the first half of the year.
No five-cent coins were produced at all in 2023.
Its records show it sold 29,919 non-premium rolls of 40 five-cent pieces and another 12,552 rolls of a premium version in the last financial.
It only sold 935 five-cent coins for circulation by external parties in 2023-23, the lowest amount of all denominations except the 10-cent piece.
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