Is that an 1896 Australian dollar and not 1996? Sure looks like it is silver. If so what is the silver content and what VDI did the Vortex show? Must of near blew your headphones off

. As always….nice finds!!!
It sure does look like silver. I looked it up.......aluminum and bronze.

It is from a 1996 release. However, there is a good story to go along with that. "Recently, this particular $1 coin has been the subject of some rather ‘egregious’ eBay listings, with asking prices soaring as high as $20,000. But before you rush to check your change jar for this seemingly lucrative piece, let’s delve into the reality behind these listings."
Mark Nemtsas from The Purple Penny, a seasoned coin expert, has issued a stern warning to potential buyers. According to Nemtsas, these coins are not the rare gems they’re purported to be. In fact, they’re worth exactly what they denote: one Australian dollar. The listings claiming that these coins are super rare due to a ‘defect’ are misleading, to say the least.
The Royal Australian Mint produced a whopping 26.6 million of these coins back in 1996. With such a high mintage, the odds of owning one are quite good, and the chances of it being worth thousands are, well, not so good. The alleged defect, which some sellers claim increases the coin’s value, is often nothing more than slight damage from circulation, not a mint error that could potentially enhance its worth.
So that story makes it a collector's item.