Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Hot Dollar

Amy and I read a piece in the local rag (the Canberra Times)about a 13 year old boy who camped outside the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra to be the first person in Australia to own a 2013 dollar.

It wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that he travelled from Sydney then camped outside for FOUR nights which seemed a bit excessive.

After we had finished scoffing we mused about how interesting it would be to own a brand new coin on the 1st January. This year is of particular note to Canberrans as it's also Canberra's 100th Anniversary. Also in the same paper was a quote about Canberra from Dame Edna Everage saying that Canberra is a lovely place because you can get on a plane there....and in just a few minutes be somewhere really interesting' (which does seem a tadge harsh)

With both these things in mind we headed off to the Royal Australian Mint, a short drive (or even cycle ride) from our house.

Even at 11.30am (the place had opened at 7.30am) there was still a queue of about 40-50 people lined up to get their newly minted coin. We joined the line.

When our time arrived we loaded the machine with $3 (yes $3 for a $1 coin, not tricky to work out the profit then!) and our new shiny coins were stamped in the machine and then dropped into the slot to the delight of the children (who were too young to understand the duff economics involved in the transaction).

Here's a picture of us all with our new coins - all of us grateful that we got them on the same day that the lad had, but without the 4 day wait. I still think Dame Edna was wrong.

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