Australian Government Celebrates AC/DC's 45th Anniversary With New Collection Of Coins

October 2, 2018

The Australian government is celebrating AC/DC's 45th anniversary by releasing a new collection of coins.

In the spirit of AC/DC and their hit single "Thunderstruck", the Royal Australian Mint (the Mint) — a government agency which is the sole supplier of Australia's circulating coinage — partnered with Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre to strike its AC/DC coins with a bolt of man-made lightning.

The experiment was conducted in the Caged Lightning exhibition at Questacon, which produces lightning using a Tesla coil. Ten AC/DC 50 cent pieces, appropriately featuring the famous high voltage logos and design elements from AC/DC albums, were "Thunderstruck" with 3,500,000 volts of lightning.

"AC/DC is famous for their electrifying energy. It's in their music, the titles of some of their songs, even their insignia," said Royal Australian Mint chief executive officer Ross MacDiarmid.

"The Mint thought that such an iconic band deserved high voltage coins and an electrifying launch to match.

"We weren't sure what effect the lightning would have on the coins, but we discovered that because the coins are such excellent conductors of electricity, the lightning's mark is only visible under magnification."

Ten of the 30,000 coins were "Thunderstruck" and will be randomly sent to ten customers who order their AC/DC - 45 Years of Thunder Uncirculated Coin through the Mint's online store or Contact Centre.

"Striking these ten coins with lightning adds a uniquely AC/DC element to this release," said MacDiarmid.

"To help the ten lucky customers identify their 'Thunderstruck' coins, we have added unique frosting to the coin's AC/DC logo."

The Mint's production of two AC/DC coins adds legal tender status to the band's list of accolades.

The second coin minted for AC/DC's 45th anniversary is the Mint's first-ever nickel-plated coin. Not only black, its detailed design is minted on a triangular blank to resemble a guitar pick. The design elements have also been drawn from AC/DC's album artwork and the amp-inspired packaging includes an actual guitar pick.

The new coins are both officially licensed AC/DC merchandise and are available now from the Mint's online store at eshop.ramint.gov.au or by phoning the Contact Centre on 1300 652 020.

Find more on Ac/dc
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).