Australia. 1967. Proof pattern Swan Dollar. NGC PF64. Meszaros. Only 750 issues minted. In 1965, the Australian government decided to shift into a decimal currency system. When the collectors realised that the dollar is not included in the denominations, the Australian Coin Review magazine held a national competition to select the design for the dollar. The winning design belonged to a famous Australian medallist Andor Meszaros featuring a swan and wattle with the denomination 100 cents ($1). The coin was rejected by the Australian government but the organisers decided to have specimens minted anyway. A total of 1500 uncirculated and 750 proof silver specimens were minted. These coins became numismatically important given the historic conversion to the decimal currency. Despite the dollar eventually issued in paper currency, ultimately this pattern Dollar represents informally the first Australian decimal dollar which eventually many more were subsequently issued by the government such as the kangaroo dollar.
