New Australian $5 coin to be released - including touching tribute to late Queen

A RARE new coin will be unveiled in Australia to celebrate the country's 20 World Heritage sites and the late Queen.

The "2023 $5 coloured frosted uncirculated coin" will be released on September 7 as a touching collector's item for all the best Australia has to offer - both old and new.

The Royal Australian Mint has created only 30,000 of the gold stunners that will cost a steep $30 - far higher than its monetary value.

But if you ever did want to part with the rare coinage - it can be used as legal tender.

In the centre of the $5 is a handprint, fan palm frond and fossil in colour representing "the natural and built icons and Australia's Indigenous heritage," according to Mint.

Surrounding this will be all of the nation's World Heritage sites, including the Sydney Opera House, luru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and Great Barrier Reef.

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And on the reverse side, a poignant tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, designed by the British engraver Jody Clark, is spread across the whole of its face.

The late Queen still remains on Australia's currency while its central bank decides whether to go through the costly process of replacing the monarch with King Charles III.

The outgoing governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Philip Lowe, said back in November they were considering changing the design of the iconic $5 note following the Queen's death.

“We recognise that this is an issue that is of national interest and there is a long tradition of the monarch being on Australia’s banknotes,” Lowe said.

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“The monarch has been on at least one of Australia’s banknotes since 1923 and was on all our notes until 1953."

Noting the "tradition" and "national significance of the issue", the bank said it will be holding lengthy discussions for the next 18 months.

The news comes as an American retiree Cheryl Myers told The Sun US that a coin her family hid for years sold for $3.17million in 2013.

The now 71-year-old from  Virginia, got the rare nickel from her parents, who created a collection for their children.

Meanwhile in the UK, The Sun compiled a list of all of Royal Mint's most rare and valuable 50p coins in circulation.

The official maker of British coins has seen 50p pieces sell for almost £900 - a whopping 1,800 times its face value.

So you'll want to keep an eye out for particular special-edition coinage which can sell for big sums.

This includes a Kew Gardens 50p that could be worth up to £895 and is the rarest of all with only 210k in circulation.

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