Will 5 and 10 cents meet their demise soon

[Pabitra]

See

Five and ten cent coins to disappear within a decade - Australian Mint demand

[redlock]

Like New Zealand the 5c will likely go soon. However, I cannot see that the 10c will follow in spite of the comment.

What the Australian government and the RAM should do -- well should have done years ago -- is issue a totally new series with smaller and lighter coins of 10c, 20c and 50c. However, I suspect there is no will within the government and RAM to do it.

[Pabitra]

5 cent may go away soon and 10 cents with in 10 years.
10 years is a long period.
It is less than period difference of disappearance of 1 Cent and 2 cents.

Yes, the redesign is long due.
New series may come whenever new king effigy becomes due.
The new effigy last year was a option which got missed.

50 cent redesign is long due and has been under consideration for some time.
See
http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,34485.0.html

The 50 subunit of currency was for long the highest denomination in coins with main unit being a note.
This was used to mint the largest diameter coin in English speaking world.
UK reduced the size many years ago but Australia, Canada and USA still stick to old big size.
In all these countries, this is most unpopular coin, if you go by mintage data.

[Pabitra]

See

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8634173/Five-ten-cent-coins-disappear-Australian-Mint-says-demand-dropping-COVID-19.html

[Mister T]

Seems like there has been an increase in demand for coins: https://eshop.ramint.gov.au/a-statement-from-the-royal-australian-mint-in-regard-to-rolled-circulating-coins

[eurocoin]

Time for a change? Cost of producing some Australian coins
to outstrip face value

Prices of copper and nickel, used to make silver coins, have soared due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The soaring metal prices mean that it will cost more than the face value of the coins to make five cent, 10 cent and 20 cent pieces, according to new research.

Prices of the two key metals in Australia's silver coins, nickel and copper, have skyrocketed this year due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the price of nickel spiking 250% on the London Metals Exchange last month to more than US$100,000 a tonne. Investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts copper prices, which also spiked last month, are set to rise again as stocks of the metal run out.

In research released this week, analysts at Morningstar said the metal in a five cent piece was now worth 6c, up from 4c six months ago. Over the same period, the value of metal in a 10 cent piece has increased from 9c to 14c, while metal making up a 20 cent piece has jumped in value to 28c from 18c. However, the 50 cent and higher denominations continue to have a higher face value than their metal content. There is 38c worth of metal in the dodecagonal coin today, against 25c six months ago, while the metal value of each of the $1 and $2 coin remains below 10c.

The higher metal prices will eat into the Royal Australian Mint's profit from making coins, which is known as seigniorage. Seigniorage returned to the commonwealth was $45.3m in the 2020-21 financial year, well above the Mint's target of $19.9m – a result which the Mint said in its annual report was due to government financial support during the pandemic, "which saw an increase in the availability of cash within the economy and a corresponding demand for coin".

The impact of soaring metal prices on the Mint will not be immediate because it has a stockpile of metal. However, the Mint's chief executive, Leigh Gordon, told Morningstar that the five cent piece was already costing more to produce than it generated in revenue and more coins could follow suit. "At the moment, we're thinking, particularly the five, 10 and 20 cent pieces could be specific coins where we are not recovering the money that it's costing us to make them," he said.

The cost of the five cent coin has long been a hot political topic, with Guardian Australia contributor Malcolm Farr grilling Scott Morrison, who was treasurer at the time, about it as long ago as 2016. "Why haven't you abolished the five cent coin?" Farr asked during a post-budget National Press Club event. "It has lost its utility in a cashless marketplace. It's a nuisance and it costs 6c to make a five cent coin." Morrison was unimpressed with the question. "Well Mal, if you can get as many people in this room again who are interested in that topic, I'll answer your question," he said. "I mean, I'll take it up with the Reserve Bank governor, Mal. Why don't we get some questions on the budget."

Source: The Guardian

[redlock]

Firstly, the Aussies could/should reduce the size of the coins. Particularly the 20c and the 50c, but also the 10c. Just look at what New Zealand did.
Secondly, they could change the metall composition of the ''silver'' coins. Look what Canada did.
However, it might be too late to reduce size and/or metall composition because the anti-cash lobby will scream:
--We are going cashless, stop making coins (and banknotes) all together.
--The cost of changing all the machines that handle coins is too expensive.

NZ and Canada made their changes just in time. The Aussies...well, we'll see.

[Mister T]

The impact of soaring metal prices on the Mint will not be immediate because it has a stockpile of metal. However, the Mint's chief executive, Leigh Gordon, told Morningstar that the five cent piece was already costing more to produce than it generated in revenue and more coins could follow suit. "At the moment, we're thinking, particularly the five, 10 and 20 cent pieces could be specific coins where we are not recovering the money that it's costing us to make them," he said.

The cost of the five cent coin has long been a hot political topic, with Guardian Australia contributor Malcolm Farr grilling Scott Morrison, who was treasurer at the time, about it as long ago as 2016. "Why haven't you abolished the five cent coin?" Farr asked during a post-budget National Press Club event. "It has lost its utility in a cashless marketplace. It's a nuisance and it costs 6c to make a five cent coin." Morrison was unimpressed with the question. "Well Mal, if you can get as many people in this room again who are interested in that topic, I'll answer your question," he said. "I mean, I'll take it up with the Reserve Bank governor, Mal. Why don't we get some questions on the budget."

As mentioned this has happened before, and the price will go down again for sure. Not ideal for the mint though, but I wonder how much they make/lose per denomination. Regardless, they probably make a handsome profit on all non-circulating coins.