We have some news from Down Under today. One lucky Aussie was left shocked after being given a rare two-dollar Australian coin as part of his change – a coin so rare that it could easily be sold for $6,000 to an eager collector.
The customer, who was making a purchase at a service station, received the 2020 firefighter coin with a “bullseye error” when receiving change. While a $2 coin in an of itself is not rare in Australia, this version with an error on the bullseye pattern is particularly rare. The coins were printed in 2020 to honor those who served as firefighters and emergency workers in 2018 during the well-documented “Black Summer” bushfires.
The bushfires hit international headlines after they burned down more than 18 million hectares, or 44 million acres, of land. 33 people were directly killed by the fires while hundreds more were impacted by smoke inhalation. An additional 450 deaths are believed to have been caused by the smoke. The bushfires also had a disastrous impact on the natural wildlife in Australia, with around 3 billion animals believed to have either been killed or displaced by the fires. More than 3,000 homes were also destroyed, and billions of dollars in damage were done to the national economy.
The coin paid tribute to everyone who lost something that year. On one side of the coin there is a flame design – this is on the “tails” side of the coin – while the “heads” side of the coin features a profile of the late Queen Elizabeth II. However, this particular version of the coin has a minting error – and as one of just a handful in existence, experts say it could sell for as much as $6,000. The most recent sale of the same kind of coin saw a keen collector purchase it for $5,950 at auction.
