While others were likely still reeling from celebrating on New Year’s Eve the night before, hundreds were up early at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra.
Why were they there? Well they were trying to get their hands on the first minted coins for 2024.
For those who arrived between 6am and 8am, they were entered into a ballot to mint not just Australia’s first coin, but the world’s first coin of the year.
The first name chosen was not present, so a redraw took place and the lucky winner ended up being young Izzy Zaharis.
Izzy, her brother, and parents had travelled to Canberra from Wollongong, and entered the previous day’s ballot to win the last coins of 2023 featuring Queen Elizabeth II, but to no avail.
The 12-year-old tells Neos Kosmos that it was an almost surreal feeling, and she hadn’t realised how big of a deal it was.
“When they read out my number, it didn’t feel like it was my number, but like it obviously was my number,” she explained, that sense of surrealism.
“I also didn’t expect it to be such a big thing – I thought I’d just go mint the coin and then it would be over, but people were trying to get photos, people were like trying to interview me and ask for my name. It’s kind of a lot bigger than what I expected.”
Funnily enough, Izzy isn’t actually the coin collector of the family, that title belongs to her mother Leisa and her brother.
“I kind of just look at coins as money you can spend,” Izzy laughed.
Leisa shared with Neos Kosmos that the family were amused that Izzy won, but her son was a little upset over the fact that his sister won.
“That’s what’s quite funny for the family because her brother has been collecting since he was little,” she said.
“He’ll look through my coin purse, and often go ‘I’m just checking which coins you’ve got’, and he might find a little gem in there. But Izzy has had no interest at all.”
Earlier this month, Leisa and her son also lined up for six hours to add some 35th anniversary $2 coins to their collection.
It all began for Leisa, who obviously passed on the hobby to her kids, at the World Expo 88 in Brisbane, where her, and her classmates got a Centenary of Federation medallion.
One interesting part of the family’s collection is a changeover set from Cyprus when it changed over denomination.
Izzy’s minted coin is not only the first of 2024, but the very first with King Charles on it, making it quite a significant piece for any collection.
The coin showcases Australia’s involvement in space and references milestones like the launch of the first satellite and the Apollo 11 moon landing.
“Out of this world – Australia in space,” it reads, and while 100 people got the chance to mint one of these coins, Izzy got the very first one.
