Woolworths $2 Olympic coin errors: Royal Australian Mint responds after rare misprints emerge

The Royal Australian Mint has responded after special-edition coins released for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games had unique errors on them.

The Royal Australian Mint has downplayed the value of special-edition coins released for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games after it was revealed some had unique errors on them.

These errors are rare and can make coins worth far more than face value. But the mint said the errors do not change the value of the coins, which remains at face value.

The limited edition coins were handed out to Australians who paid in cash in Woolworths supermarkets across the country. Some coins had letters missing, while others had a potentially valuable “bullseye” error, which is when the coloured motif is printed on the wrong side. In this case, it was printed on King Charles’ effigy.

As more collectors sought to have the error coins valued, Yahoo Finance asked the Mint if they were aware of how widespread the production issues could be.

“Without being able to inspect the coins firsthand it is impossible to confirm,” the mint spokesperson said.

“The Royal Australian Mint produces billions of coins each year and on occasion there may be minor variations in the coins produced. These variations do not change the value of the coins, which remains at face value.”

But coin experts said certain errors can cause a coin to skyrocket in value.

Mark Nemtsas from The Purple Penny told Yahoo Finance legitimate Woolies Olympic bullseye error coins could fetch between $1,000 to $3,000 at auction.

Other bullseyes have sold for nearly $6,000.

As for the coin with the missing letters, Nemtsas said that was a die-fill error and had an estimated value of $30 to $50.

“Grease or oil fills in the letters or other features on the dies and when the coins are struck those features are not formed on the coin because the grease or oil is incompressible,” he explained.

The coins were released through Woolworths supermarkets ahead of the Paris Olympics, with some limited edition albums also available from the Mint and Australia Post.

During the release period, there was a new coin added into circulation every fortnight. There were three Olympic designs and one for the Paralympics.

There was a motif printed on the tail side that included the classic Aussie colours of green and gold. But the potential production error has seen it printed on the head side.

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