To celebrate Rio 2016, Woolworths and the Royal Australian Mint have launched a series of limited edition Australian Olympic and Paralympic $2 coins, and the only way to strike gold is by shopping at Woolies.

From today, one of 12 million Rio 2016 commemorative $2 coins to be released over the next month could make it from the Woolworths checkout to your pocket. The coins will be released exclusively through Woolworths and customers could find one in their change at the checkout.

The collection includes five Australian Olympic coins, each designed to showcase one of the Olympic Rings, and one Australian Paralympic coin, Australia’s first ever multi-coloured $2 coin.

The new-look series is a symbol of support for all Australian athletes. The Australian Olympic coin incorporates motifs spanning 32 sporting disciplines and the coloured ring on the Paralympic coin is representative of the Aussie team’s colours.

The Australian Olympic $2 coin with the blue Olympic Ring will be the first to hit the checkouts, and each week a new coin will be released. The Australian Paralympic $2 coin will be the final one, hitting the checkouts on 22 August.

The freshly minted, limited edition coins features include:

32 disciplines from 28 sports to be represented across all coins

Six unique designs

A unique secret colour print application technique

More than 12 million coins released to the public

Availability starting exclusively through Woolworths

Karen Madden, Head of Media & Sponsorship for Woolworths Supermarkets, said; “Woolworths is proud to support our 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Teams. We are excited to be able to share this with our customers through these limited edition coins in partnership with the Royal Australian Mint. It is a great privilege to be a part of the 2016 Australian Olympic and Paralympic effort and we are very much looking forward to distributing these coins in change to our customers when they shop with us.”

CEO of the Royal Australian Mint, Ross MacDiarmid, said; “We have worked closely with Woolworths to help celebrate our Aussie athletes with this set of commemorative coins. We have used world-class technology to develop Australia’s first multi-coloured $2 coin, a pivotal moment for us to help honour a major event in culture and history. There is so much passion for what we do here, and we are excited to see them in Woolworths stores for Aussie consumers to enjoy.”

Woolworths and the Royal Australian Mint are both official Australian Olympic and Paralympic Team Partners, and the popular collectors items have been designed to pay homage to the 2016 Australian Olympic and Paralympic Teams.

Please note these $2 coins are made out of the same metal as the standard $2 coins - aluminium bronze.

The Woolworths release dates for each coin are detailed below:

Week 1: Tuesday 19 July 2016 - Blue

Week 2: Monday 25 July 2016 - Black

Week 3: Monday 1 August 2016 - Red

Week 4: Monday 8 August 2016 - Yellow

Week 5: Monday 15 August 2016 - Green

Week 6: Monday 22 August 2016 - Australian Paralympic Team coin and coin in folder

The Olympic coins in the folder ($15.00) are available from 27 July 2016 from both Woolworths and the Royal Australian Mint (postage charges will apply from the Royal Australian Mint if you buy from the eShop or through the Contact Centre. The folders will also be available in store from the Mint Coin Shop).

The Paralympic coin in folder ($3.00) is available from 22 August 2016 from both Woolworths and the Royal Australian Mint (postage charges will apply from the Royal Australian Mint if you buy from the eShop or through the Contact Centre. The folder will also be available in store from the Mint Coin Shop).

For more information on the Coin Collection Sets please visit the below links:

Australian Olympic Team Coin Collection: https://eshop.ramint.gov.au/ORDER-FROM-27th-July-2016-Australian-Olympic-Team-Program/510928.aspx

Australian Paralympic Team Coin in Folder: https://eshop.ramint.gov.au/ORDER-FROM-22-August-2016-Australian-Paralympic-Team/510954.aspx

For high-resolution images please contact Michelle Nakamura at michelle.nakamura@ramint.gov.au (For media only)