The curious case of the Australian ten cent coin

It seems that almost every day I see people spending money and finding money, in fact, I myself found money the other day at a train station, it happened to be a ten cent coin. This got me thinking, is there something special about ten cent coins? 

It is definitely the most common coin I find on the ground and in my wallet, but why? It's not like the size or colour of the ten cent coin makes it stand out from others, such as the 20 cent coin. I never cease to be amazed at the number of times a day I see people throwing away ten cent coins, just for the hell of it.

People in privileged societies take money for granted. The 5 cent coin in Australia is similar to America's penny, it really doesn't  serve a purpose. However, the 10 cent coin is a completely different story. It appears that people are underestimating the power ten cents can have on someone's life. When one looks at the production history of 5 cent coins compared to 10 cent coins made each year at the Royal Australian Mint, it seems that every year many more 5 cent coins are produced, the results are staggering. 

Here are the individual results for both 5 and 10 cent coin production from 1999 to 2009 (courtesy of the Royal Australian Mint):

·       10 cent coins	5 cent coins
·       1999: 97.1 million ·       2000: 51.1 million ·       2001: 109.4 million ·       2002: 70.3 million ·       2003: 53.6 million ·       2004: 89.1 million ·       2005: 116.7 million ·       2006: 157.1 million ·       2007: 61.1 million ·       2008: 136.0 million ·       2009: 25.3 million	·       1999: 179.5 million ·       2000: 97.4 million ·       2001: 174.6 million ·       2002: 148.8 million ·       2003: 115.1 million ·       2004: 145.3 million ·       2005: 194.3 million ·       2006: 306.5 million ·       2007: 59.0 million ·       2008: 200.2 million ·       2009: 83.9 million

Why on earth would the Royal Australian Mint produce more 5 cent coins than ten. This is a clear example of prejudice against the ten cent coin. It is of more value than the 5 cent coin, yet it seems to be of less importance.

I always see people nowadays throwing ten cent coins onto the ground for fun. That is where I come in to play. I have a very good eye for ten cent coins, it's as though if there is one on the ground, it wont be there by the time I leave the area in which it was. 

I have managed to accumulate big bucks from ten cent coins over the years. Ten cent coins have helped me fight off hunger through vending machines and have helped me with my maths, counting ten cent coins can be a very arduous process.

The case of the Australian ten cent coin is indeed very curious and is one that I will be trying to unravel for years to come.

What does the Australian ten cent coin mean to you? Comments would be greatly appreciated.