Australian silver coins (5, 10, 20 and 50 cent) are composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel.
There is no silver in any circulating Australian coin.
From 1967 onwards, no general circulation Australian coin has contained any silver, or any other precious metal at all. Since 1967, all Australian "silver" coins are made from a 75% copper and 25% nickel alloy.
The two general circulation Australian coins that have a gold coloured appearance are the One and Two Dollar coins. They are both made from 92% copper, 6% aluminum and 2% nickel. Non-circulating Australian gold coins are usually made from 22 carat gold. These are a specially minted coin for serious collectors and investors and are priced in accordance with the current rate for gold. No country with responsible financial management could afford to circulate coins made from gold.
Australian 2 cent coins were made from bronze. If you have silver 2 cent coins it would be because somebody plated them. They are no longer in circulation, but unless they are part of a proof set, they are worth 2 cents.
Silvery coloured Australian coins in general circulation are the 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins. Their composition is 75% copper and 25% nickel. There is no silver in any circulating Australian coin.
The Australian Kookaburra series of Proof and Specimen coins first issued by the Perth Mint in 1990, at 99.99% silver, are as close to pure silver as you are ever likely to get in a coin.
No. The only Australian decimal coin to ever contain any silver, was the 1966 round 50 cent coin. They were withdrawn from circulation when the price of silver skyrocketed in 1967.
Silver Australian coins were first issued in 1910 and were made from sterling silver which has a 92.5% silver content. This changed from 1946 onwards and the silver content was reduced to 50%. No Australian general circulation coin has had any silver content since 1966, except for the round 1966 50 cent coin. The silver content of the older predecimal coins possibly values the coins at more than face value, however, if the coins are in good condition, the collector value may be higher.
Australian 2 cent coins were issued from 1966 until 1984 and were made from 97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% nickel. No general circulation Australian 2 cent coin contained any silver. If you have a silver Australian 2 cent coin, it is because somebody plated it. In 2006, the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) issued a pure gold and a pure silver set of coins, including the 2 cent coin, to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Decimal Currency in Australia. The coins were never issued individually.
Silver had become far too expensive to make general circulation coins from and a cheaper method was to use an alloy of copper and nickel. This was an international trend during the mid to late 20th century. The last ever Australian circulating coin to contain any silver was the round 1966 50 cent coin which had a silver content of 80%. This coin was withdrawn in 1967 due to the sky rocketing price of silver. From 1946 to 1964, all Australian predecimal "silver" coins had a 50% silver content. From 1910 to 1945, all Australian predecimal "silver" coins had a 92.5% silver content.
Athens had coins made of bronze, silver and gold.
The only U.S. coins currently made that are silver are American Silver Eagles and other special collectors coins sold by the U.S. Mint. These coins are NOT released for circulation.
No British circulating coin has contained any silver since 1946. From 1919/1920 to 1946, all British silver coins contained 50% silver. Prior to 1919/1920, all British silver coins were made from sterling silver or, 92.5% silver.