In news almost as exciting as the event it celebrates, we are thrilled to announce the launch of the Colour TV in Australia 50^th Anniversary 2025 $1 1oz Silver Proof Coin!

It was on March the 1^st 1975 – known as ‘C-Day’ – that full-time colour television became a reality in Australia. An affordable way to celebrate a major milestone, the Colour TV in Australia 50^th Anniversary 2025 $1 1oz Silver Proof Coin brings those heady days flooding back. Struck by Australia’s own Perth Mint, and crafted from 1oz of 99.99% pure silver, this eye-catching coin is graced with a richly nostalgic design.

Evoking memories of the eager anticipation of people right across Australia, and the wonder and sheer delight at seeing colour telly for the first time, the reverse unites a depiction of a classic 1970s TV with the iconic colour Test Pattern. Official legal tender, Jody Clark’s portrait of King Charles III is found upon the obverse.

A unique, historic addition to your own collection, and a great gift for those who lived through this exciting time, the Colour TV in Australia 50^th Anniversary 2025 $1 1oz Silver Proof Coin is a strictly limited edition. A mere 2,000 coins have been struck!

Colour TV in Australia – the history…

It was on March the 1^st 1975 – known as ‘C-Day’ – that full-time colour television became a reality in Australia.

Australia was late to the party when it came to colour telly. The USA, Canada, Britain – and many other European countries – had all successfully moved to colour during the 1960s. The Australian Commonwealth Government was at pains to ensure that Australia got the most appropriate system possible, however, despite constant pressure from media outlets to get on with the job. After years of delays, the excitement of the Australian people was naturally at fever pitch.

Colour TV displays were set up at agricultural shows and shopping centres in the lead-up to the big day, and crowds flocked to catch a glimpse of colour telly in real life. For many, that would be as close as they would get to this groundbreaking technology for some time. In 1975, colour TVs were selling for the equivalent of $8,000 to $11,000 in today’s money!

It may have been a lot of money, but the revolution of colour television had arrived – and there was no turning back. As one analyst put it, once you had watched TV in colour, watching in black & white was like eating a pie without sauce! As a result, Australia’s acceptance of colour TV was among the fastest in the world, as Aussies from coast to coast embraced the advent of colour. Within just a couple of years, a massive 60% of Australian households had made the switch from black & white.

In the decades since, the rapid advances in technology across all forms of media may make reports of all the excitement surrounding the introduction of colour TV in Australia sound a little quaint. Make no mistake, however – this was a major event in Australia’s cultural development, and a moment remembered fondly by millions of people across the nation.