Australian Dollar (AU Dollar) AUD

The Australian dollar, symbolised as $, is the decimal-based currency of the Commonwealth of Australia. To differentiate itself from other dollar-based systems, it is also designated as A$ in written form. The currency is also written in an ISO 4217 format of AUD, most commonly used in financial institutions and foreign exchange markets.

The AUD is also the official currency of Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and Cocos Island as well as the independent provinces of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu, all in the Pacific Ocean near Australia.

Since Australia currency was separated from the British pound in 1931, the country has used first the Australian pound then the Australian dollar. Since 1966 when coins were introduced as valid legal tender, the Australian dollar has used both coins and banknotes in its currency system, and 100 cents, designated as a lined-c, compose one dollar.

The 1¢ and 2¢ coins are no longer used, and contemporary coinage starts with the 5¢ piece and continues with 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1 and $1 coins. The cent pieces are silver-coloured, and the dollar coins are bronze-coloured. Each coin increases in size by denomination, and all are round except the dodecagonal 50¢ piece. Since lower denominations aren’t used, prices are rounded to the nearest 5¢.

Commemorative coins in 20¢, 50¢ and $1 denominations have been issued and are considered legal tender as well.

The first banknotes were issued in 1966 and had the exact value of the preceding pound system. Denominations issued were the $1, $2, $10 and $20 bills. The $5 bill was introduced in 1967.

The $50 banknote was introduced in 1973. The $100 note was introduced in 1984 when the $1 coin replaced the $1 banknote. The $2 bill was introduced in 1988.

Due to the overall stability of the Commonwealth, the Australian dollar is highly traded on world currency markets. The high interest rates and relative non-interference with the foreign exchange market by the government lend influence to the currency’s high stature to currency traders, making it the fifth most-traded currency in the world, following closely the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the pound sterling.