1998 200th anniversary of the voyage of Bass and Flinders 50 cents Circulated WITH DIE DOUBLE LETTERS ERROR

In 1798, maritime explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders made an historic discovery. The pair proved that there was water separating Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) from mainland Australia! At the 200th anniversary of the voyage, the Royal Australian Mint issued this striking commemorative 50c coin in its honour.

This unique, one-year-only type was struck in reasonable numbers, with a mintage of 22.4 million. However, 20 years’ circulation has made it incredibly difficult to find.