Check your wallets, folks: the Royal Australian Mint has launched a national treasure hunt.

The mint has released 3 million specially marked $1 coins into circulation and people are being urged to check their change.

The coins are marked with the letters A, U or S, are date stamped 2019 and have the number 35 to mark the 35th anniversary of the $1 coin (which is on May 14, 2019).

People who collect one of each coin can enter the competition for the chance to be one of eight to win a trip to Canberra with a stay at the Jamala Wildlife Lodge.

The eight winners - picked from each state and territory - will also get the opportunity to mint their own one-kilogram pure silver coin and receive a VIP tour of the mint.

Royal Australian Mint chief executive Ross MacDiarmid said the golden ticket-style competition was launched to encourage children to collect coins.

"Australia's Dollar Discovery is a nationwide treasure hunt that we hope encourages Australians of all ages and from every state and territory to check their changefor these special coins,â€ Mr MacDiarmid said.

The five kangaroos design was created by Stuart Devlin, and hundreds of millions of the $1 coins have been minted since 1984.

To read the complete article, see:
Royal Australian Mint launchesa Willy Wonka-style treasure hunt (https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-
finance/
royal-australian-mint-launches-a-willy-wonka-style-treasure
-hunt-20181102-p50dix.html)