By Ewen McRae
Avid coin collector Pauline Lippold has taken out a national competition, but she says her new friendships are the biggest reward from her favourite hobby.
The Rockbank woman has won the Australian Mint’s Dollar Discovery competition, which encouraged the public to hunt for three unique $1 coins.
Ms Lippold said coin collecting had become an important part of her life, and the competition had provided hours of fun.
“It was my friends who got me into coin collecting,” she said.
“We all have quite significant medical issues and we found that collecting coins, as well as noodling, are the perfect hobbies for us to take our minds off what we are going through and to give us an obsession.
“My friends are avid coin collectors and were thrilled when they found out about this competition.
“While sharing a cup of tea they convinced me to get involved and I am extremely pleased I did.”
The competition involved finding three coins marked with A, U and S. Ms Lippold is one of eight winners to receive a $10,000 trip for three to Canberra, which will include a visit to the mint to create a pure silver coin, which would normally cost $1695.
