Royal Australian Mint issuing AC/DC coin set

The Royal Australian Mint is releasing a special coin set celebrating six of AC/DC’s album anniversaries.

Among them is Back In Black which turned 40 in July. With estimated global sales of 60 million, the album is among the most commercially successful rock albums.

This is the second coin released celebrating Akka-Dakka, and will go out on October 8.

It is celebrating the following other anniversaries:

–          45th Anniversary of the Australian release of High Voltage

–          45th Anniversary of the Australian release of T.N.T

–          25th Anniversary of Ballbreaker

–          45th Anniversary of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

–          40th Anniversary of For Those About to Rock We Salute You

In 2018, the Mint 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 produced lightning using a Tesla coil. 

Ten AC/DC 50 cent pieces, featuring the high-voltage logos and design elements from AC/DC albums, were ‘Thunderstruck’ with 3,500,000 volts of lightning.

The second coin was 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. 

“AC/DC is famous for their electrifying energy,” Mint CEO Ross MacDiarmid said at the time.

“It’s in their music, the titles of some of their songs, even their insignia.

“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.”

The coins were officially licensed AC/DC merchandise and available from the Mint’s online store.

The October 2020 coin set comes at a time when it’s widely speculated the band’s long-awaited album will drop by the end of the year.

AC/DC fan sites excitedly pointed to new photos of the latest lineup being posted – and then quickly pulled off – on the band’s official site.

They were apparently from a video shoot in February in the Netherlands, which features drummer Phil Rudd and guitarist Stevie Young together onstage.