Five and ten cent coins to disappear as Australian Mint says demand is dropping because of COVID-19 

Australia’s five and ten cent coins could soon disappear forever after demand for the currency has halved over the past five years. 

Royal Australian Mint chief executive officer Ross MacDiarmid predicted the natural ‘death’ of the coins in January but the pandemic is expected to quicken the coins’ demise. 

‘There’s no doubt there has been a significant decline in demand for circulating coin over the last five to six years,’ he told the ABC.

‘Decline in demand for coins (is) roughly 55 to 56 per cent.’

The currency is made from copper and nickel but a sharp rise in the value of the metals has impacted the Mint’s finances.

Currently the metal in a five cent coin is worth just over three cents, leaving little room for profit. 

The profit made by the Mint on coins is called ‘seigniorage’ however in its last annual report the institution reported a 47 per cent drop below budget to $26 million. 

Despite the decline in circulation and profit Mr MacDiarmid said the Mint would not force the demise of the smaller currency. 

In the early 1990s the Australian one and two cent coins were discontinued but today an unused coin in mint condition can be worth up to $15. 

Meanwhile a circulated one or two cent piece can fetch up to $3. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Royal Australian Mint for further comment.  

The Reserve Bank of Australia also recorded a steep decline in the use of cash since the beginning of the pandemic.

RBA Assistant Governor Michele Bullock said in a June speech the global pandemic ‘is having dramatic effects on economies around the world’.

The drop in circulation and the rise in the cost of nickel and copper, which both coins are made from, has resulted in a drop in profit for the Royal Australian Mint (five cent coins pictured)

The Reserve Bank of Australia said growing dependency on cashless transactions (contactless Eftpos pictured) has also played a major roll in the decline of both coins and notes 

‘In recent years, substantial innovation in the payments industry has furthered these trends and also widened payment options,’ she said. 

‘The introduction of contactless payments has made it quicker and easier to make lower-value transactions by card, eating further into the traditional domain of cash transactions.’

The RBA also found almost 25 per cent of consumers still primarily use cash and most of those people tended to be elderly or lower income earners. 

Mrs Bullock said cash withdrawals from ATM’s also experienced a rapid decline in recent months.   

‘ATM withdrawals have been on a trend downward decline for a number of years,’ she said. 

‘But the decline seen in March and April was a substantial downward shift in the level of withdrawals.

‘It seems likely that a large part of this will become a permanent change in behaviour.’

Currently the metal in a five cent coin (pictured) is worth over three cents which leaves little room for the Royal Australian Mint to make a profit