AC/DC Honored With Two Commemorative Coins In Australia

Most coins are made out of some type of heavy metal. For instance, pennies in the United States are comprised of copper and zinc, and quarters can be copper-nickel clad or silver. So, is there a better way to honor one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all-time, AC/DC, than with a commemorative coin? How about two?

The legendary group is being celebrated in its native country by the Australian government with two special coins that you can’t use to buy Vegemite, but which you can cherish for the rest of your life.

“Australians take pride in supporting those who work hard to chase their passions, especially those whose passion takes them to the world stage,” the Royal Australian Mint announced on Facebook on October 2.

“With dozens of hits spanning over four decades, almost every Australian has at least one Acca Dacca tune that gets their toe-tapping. The Mint celebrates this impressive milestone with these exciting numismatic releases.”

The two pieces are part of the “45 Years of Thunder” collection, commending the amount of time AC/DC has been creating hard rocking tunes since first forming in 1973, such as the 1990 hit song “Thunderstruck.”

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The first collectible is the 2018 $5 Fine Silver Nickel Plated Colored Proof Triangular Coin, which is shaped like a guitar pick. On one side of the black and gray piece is the AC/DC logo and a depiction of lead guitarist Angus Young. The other side features the head of Queen Elizabeth II. The coin has a diameter of 33.90 millimeters and its mass is 22.23 grams. It comes housed in a box shaped like an amplifier, and there’s also a real AC/DC guitar pick included. Only 10,000 of these coins were produced. It is being sold by the Royal Australian Mint for $130 AUD.

The other commemorative item is the 2018 50c Colored Uncirculated Coin, which is a silver 12-sided polygon or a dodecagon. On one side is the AC/DC tribute, again featuring Angus Young, and the other side is the queen. The piece, made of copper and nickel, has a diameter of 31.51 millimeters and a mass of 15.55 grams. It comes packaged in a blister card, and retails for $15 AUD from the Royal Australian Mint. There are 30,000 coins available.

Both collectors’ items, which have yellow high voltage lightning bolts on them, are only available to customers in Australia and New Zealand. Diehard fans will surely find a way to get their hands on this authorized AC/DC memorabilia though.

To help launch the “45 Years of Thunder” collection, the Royal Australian Mint teamed up with Questacon, the National Science and Technology Center, in Canberra, Australia, to strike 10 of the AC/DC 50-cent coins with 3,500,000 million volts of man-made lightning, according to Facebook.

“The coins stood up well to the test, leaving just the slightest mark on some of the coin’s edges where the lightning stuck multiple times,” the Royal Australian Mint said.

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The 10 lightning-struck pieces will be sent to 10 random customers who purchase the item. Each will have a unique frosting on the logo and will include an official letter stating that it is one of the super-rare coins.

AC/DC’s last album, Rock or Bust, came out in 2014, and the band finished touring the record in 2016 with Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose handling lead vocals after longtime vocalist Brian Johnson could not tour any longer due to hearing issues. No word yet on the band’s future plans