What it does
This Determination, titled the Currency (Royal Australian Mint) Determination 2011 (No. 3) (s 1), fixes the technical specifications for a large set of Australian coins. It operates under the Currency Act 1965 (the Act), defined in the Determination as “Act” (s 3). Mechanically, the Determination supplies the particulars required by subsection 13A(1) of the Act: for each listed coin the Determination specifies the coin’s standard weight, the allowable variation from that weight, its dimensions (diameter and maximum thickness) and its design (s 4(1)). The Determination commences on the day after registration (s 2).
Part 1 is the operative table of specifications. Each row (Item) identifies a denomination and a standard composition (for example “Not less than 99.9% silver”, “Copper, aluminium and nickel”, “Not less than 99.99% gold”), and sets a standard weight together with an allowable variation (for example “20.20 ± 0.80” grams, “9.00 ± 0.28” grams). Each Item also records the coin’s maximum diameter and maximum thickness in millimetres, plus codes for shape, edge, obverse and reverse. Part 2 decodes the shape (S1-S4), edge (E1-E3), obverse (O1-O9) and reverse designs (R1-R49) and attaches a prose description to each design symbol.
Two drafting points in the Determination change how dimensions are to be read in special cases. Section 4(2) says a reference to the diameter is, for “scalloped hendecagonal or circular concave” coins, a reference to the shortest diameter. Section 5 makes a scope point: section 4 does not affect any other determination of standard weight, allowable variation, dimensions or design made under subsection 13A(1) (s 5). In practice that preserves the continued operation of any parallel determinations made under the same statutory power.
The Determination therefore functions as a detailed technical rulebook for the production and legal recognition of the listed coins: it prescribes metallurgy, mass tolerances, geometry and iconography for each Item. It does not, on its face, create offences or set out enforcement procedures; it delegates specification work under the Act (see s 3 and s 4(1)) and expressly leaves other determinations intact (s 5). The practical consequences are operational: the Royal Australian Mint, struck coin suppliers, coin dealers, banks, vending and coin-mechanism manufacturers, and anyone who assays or validates coinage will use these specifications to produce, accept or test coins. The Determination is explicit and granular , many Items are nearly identical in technical parameters but are differentiated by reverse design (R1-R49) or by precious-metal content. Users must read the table entries and the symbol explanations together to obtain the full specification for any listed Item.