Lowly silver coins to be phased out
Aussies may have to bid farewell to 5 and 10 cent coins within the next decade as the lowly silvers are increasingly rendered obsolete.
Royal Australian Mint chief executive Ross MacDiarmid told ABC Radio Melbourne the 5c and 10c coins “will probably just cease to be used” in the next five to 10 years.
“Retailers more than likely would be the ones that would stimulate a decline in the demand for 5c pieces because if you rounded up to 10 [cents] there’s not really much need for a five,” he said.
Demand for coinage had declined by about 55 per cent in the last five years amid growing inflation and the rise of online and contactless payments.
MacDiarmid said he expected the Mint to eventually stop the production of 5c and 10c coins, just like it did with the old 1c and 2c coins in 1990.