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The Royal Australian Mint will issue 40,000 of the special coins, available to purchase for $15 each
On 6 October 1963, the Armstrong 500 touring car race was run for the first time at the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst, NSW. It was won outright by Bob Jane and Harry Firth who completed 130 laps in a 1962 Ford Cortina Mk1 GT.
Over the six decades that followed, the ‘Bathurst’ race has become part of Australian motoring folklore, an iconic battleground that created motorsports heroes and fostered the traditional Holden-vs-Ford rivalry that would underpin the race for the majority of those 60 years.
To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Mount Panorama endurance race, the Royal Australian Mint has commissioned a commemorative 50-cent piece that showcases the race on the front and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the back.
The front of the coin depicts six race cars (we think these represent an HK Monaro, XA Falcon, VK Commodore, AU Falcon, VE Commodore and a Ford Mustang) as well as a coloured strip on either side of the track.
A minting run of 40,000 coins will be produced and they are available from some Australia Post outlets and coin specialists, but given the collectibility of the coin, will probably sell out quickly.
Each coin costs $15 but still carries a legal tender value of $0.50, a worthy corollary for how much motor racing costs to go just that little bit faster!
Who won Bathurst in each year?
| Year | Winner | Year | Winner | Year | Winner |
| 1963 | 20 – Ford Cortina Mk1 GT (Jane/Firth) | 1983 | 25 – Holden VH Commodore SS (Harvey/Brock/Perkins) | 2003 | 51 – Holden VY Commodore (Murphy/Kelly) |
| 1964 | 15 – Ford Cortina Mk1 GT (Jane/Reynolds) | 1984 | 05 – Holden VK Commodore (Brock/Perkins) | 2004 | 15 – Holden VY Commodore (Murphy/Kelly) |
| 1965 | 11 – Ford Cortina Mk1 GT (Seton/Bosworth) | 1985 | 10 – Jaguar XJ-S (Goss/Hahne) | 2005 | 2 – Holden VZ Commodore (Skaife/Kelly) |
| 1966 | 13 – Mini Cooper S (Aaltonen/Holden) | 1986 | 2 – Holden VK Commodore SS Group A (Grice/Bailey) | 2006 | 888 – Ford Falcon BA (Lowndes/Whincup) |
| 1967 | 52 – Ford Falcon XR GT (Firth/Gibson) | 1987 | 10 – Holden VL Commodore SS Group A (McLeod/Brock/Parsons) | 2007 | 888 – Ford Falcon BF (Lowndes/Whincup) |
| 1968 | 13 – Holden HK Monaro GTS (McPhee/Mulholland) | 1988 | 25 – Ford Sierra RS500 (Longhurst/Mezera) | 2008 | 888 – Ford Falcon BF (Lowndes/Whincup) |
| 1969 | 44 – Holden HT Monaro GTS (Bond/Roberts) | 1989 | 17 – Ford Sierra RS500 (Johnson/Bowe) | 2009 | 2 – Holden VE Commodore (Tander/Davison) |
| 1970 | 64 – Ford Falcon XW GTHO (Moffat) | 1990 | 16 – Holden VL Commodore SS Group A (Percy/Grice) | 2010 | 888 – Holden VE Commodore (Lowndes/Skaife) |
| 1971 | 65 – Ford Falcon XY GTHO (Moffat) | 1991 | 1 – Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R (Richards/Skaife) | 2011 | 2 – Holden VE Commodore (Tander/Percat) |
| 1972 | 28 – Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 (Brock) | 1992 | 1 – Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R (Richards/Skaife) | 2012 | 1 – Holden VE Commodore (Whincup/Dumbrell) |
| 1973 | 9 – Ford Falcon XA GT (Moffat/Geoghegan) | 1993 | 11 – Holden VP Commodore (Perkins/Hansford) | 2013 | 5 – Ford Falcon FG (Winterbottom/Richards) |
| 1974 | 5 – Ford Falcon XA GT (Goss/Bartlett) | 1994 | 17 – Ford Falcon EB (Johnson/Bowe) | 2014 | 6 – Ford Falcon FG (Mostert/Morris) |
| 1975 | 5 – Holden LH Torana SLR5000 (Brock/Sampson) | 1995 | 11 – Holden VR Commodore (Perkins/Ingall) | 2015 | 888 – Holden VF Commodore (Lowndes/Richards) |
| 1976 | 7 – Holden LH Torana SLR5000 (Morris/Fitzpatrick) | 1996 | 1 – Holden VR Commodore (Lowndes/Murphy) | 2016 | 19 – Holden VF Commodore (Davison/Webb) |
| 1977 | 1 – Ford Falcon XC GS500 (Moffat/Ickx) | 1997 | 11 – Holden VS Commodore (Perkins/Ingall) | 2017 | 9 – Holden VF Commodore (Reynolds/Youlden) |
| 1978 | 05 – Holden LX Torana SS A9X (Brock/Richards) | 1998 | 4 – Ford Falcon EL (Bright/Richards) | 2018 | 888 – Holden ZB Commodore (Lowndes/Richards) |
| 1979 | 05 – Holden LX Torana SS A9X (Brock/Richards) | 1999 | 7 – Holden VT Commodore (Richards/Murphy) | 2019 | 17 – Ford Mustang GT (McLaughlin/Prémat) |
| 1980 | 05 – Holden VC Commodore (Brock/Richards) | 2000 | 34 – Holden VT Commodore (Tander/Bargwanna) | 2020 | 97 – Holden ZB Commodore (Tander/van Gisbergen) |
| 1981 | 17 – Ford Falcon XD (Johnson/French) | 2001 | 1 – Holden VX Commodore (Skaife/Longhurst) | 2021 | 25 – Holden ZB Commodore (Mostert/Holdsworth) |
| 1982 | 05 – Holden VH Commodore (Brock/Perkins) | 2002 | 1 – Holden VX Commodore (Skaife/Richards) | 2022 | 97 – Holden ZB Commodore (Tander/van Gisbergen) |
The post Celebrate 60 years of Bathurst with a commemorative 50-cent piece appeared first on Drive.
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