Press Release No 28 –

New $2 Coin

Press Release No. : 28/2014

Date : 29 October 2014

The Reserve Bank of Fiji has today announced that a new $2 coin will be issued from 3 November 2014 to replace the existing $2 coins. This change is in response to earlier public calls regarding the difficulty experienced in distinguishing between the current $1 and $2 coins.

Governor Mr Barry Whiteside said that the new $2 coin will be slightly larger and thicker than the existing $1 and $2 coins. It will have a new ‘Spanish Flower’ (an inside cut) edge which will also serve as an effective differentiating feature for the visually impaired as well as for the general public. While the designs on both sides of the new coin remain unchanged, these have been raised slightly and made more prominent so that these can be easily felt.

Mr Whiteside said that both the existing and new $2 coins are within the internationally accepted guidelines of coinage dimensions, however, the new $2 coin size has been designed in consultation with the suppliers to ensure concerns raised by the public are fully addressed.

The new $2 coin is made of Multi-ply® Bronze Plated Steel instead of the Multi-ply® Brass Plated Steel of the existing coin. The new bronze metal composition is expected to delay discoloration of the new $2 coins, something which has been an issue given Fiji’s tropical climate and coin handling practices in the market. Governor Whiteside thanked the suppliers, the Royal Canadian Mint, for their assistance in enabling the change at minimal cost to the Reserve Bank.

With the introduction of the new $2 coin from 3 November 2014, the public is encouraged to start returning the existing $2 coins to a bank branch nearest to them before 31 December 2014. Mr Whiteside said that all existing $2 coins received back from circulation will be returned to the suppliers for destruction.

Technical Specifications:

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