2003 Centenary of Women's Suffrage Dollar Varieties
In 2003 the Royal Australian Mint struck a commemorative $1 coin to commemorate 100 years since women's suffrage was achieved in Australia. Two slightly different reverse designs were used to strike these coins: the reason for the change is not known but it is assumed that the first design was prone to die deterioration or cracking and so an improved design was used to strike the balance of the mintage.
The differences between the designs are subtle: one on design the letters CEN touch, the RA run into each other and the gap between the rim and the women is small (the so-called large reverse) and on the other design the letters CEN are spaced out, the RA touch but do not run into each other and the gap between the rim and the women is large (the so-called small reverse).
Neither variety is rare and the split is approximately 70% large reverse and 30% small reverse.