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Australia has become the second country - after Canada - to release a coloured coin and it should be in people's pockets by next week. And how the colour got there remains a closely guarded secret. Governor-General Quentin Bryce launched the regal purple-striped $2 coin commemorating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, on Friday at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. Two million of the coins were due to be delivered to banks on Friday and should be seen in change around the nation within days. The mint's chief executive officer Ross MacDiarmid said the purple $2 coin was its ''most innovative circulating release''. Aleksandra Stokic, a sculptor with the mint, designed the coin, which features three concentric purple stripes bordering St Edward's Crown. The mint consulted with Buckingham Palace on the design. The stripes were created by an ink or print, a process the mint says is an ''industry secret''. Originally from Serbia, Ms Stokic has designed about 10 coins since joining the mint, including the Centenary of Canberra commemorative 20c coin. ''It wasn't easy to do the design because of the [purple] print, because the $2 coin is so small,'' she said of her latest work. But the end result was worth the hard work over three months. ''I'm really proud and it's a big honour for me to be part of Australian history,'' Ms Stokic said. Ms Bryce hit the button on a packing machine which bagged five of the purple $2 coins together for purchase by collectors. She said the coins produced by the mint were more than just legal tender but also important for ''celebrating milestones, capturing moments which otherwise might pass us by too quickly''. Ms Bryce said she had called on the Queen just last week in the days following her coronation anniversary. ''What gladdened my heart was the obvious and sincere pleasure these events have brought to Her Majesty; her sparkle, engagement and warm responsiveness to the generous spirit of the occasions.'' Ms Bryce said the Queen had shown ''dignity and strength across six decades of extraordinary change''. ''I often reflect on the Queen's dedication to duty and her commitment to services, the promises she made that day on her ascension to the throne,'' she said. And the Governor-General was quite taken by the ''gorgeous purple stripes'' of the new $2 coin. ''It is truly [something] we can all enjoy, appreciate and remember. I look forward to seeing it in circulation,'' she said.

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