2003 1 Dollar Commemorative Mintage Question

G'day.
I've picked up precisely one Volunteers $1, and that was last week.
The ladies' $1 is cropping up more frequently this year than before. The coins seem nearly uncirculated, except that they're not very shiny.
Peter in Darwin

Confirm Nancyc's findings, that is "spot on" with my $1 searchings

I've pulled about ten of the 2003 Volunteer's one-dollar coins from circulation, and I've come across at least fifty of the 2003 Suffrage coins. I just throw the Suffrage ones back now!

i seem to find a few of both in change , but all have seen better days

justabeginner, have a look at these 2 items on ebay.

180196626465 - 2003 20¢ Volunteer - 7.6 million minted

201185938352 - 2003 $1 Volunteer - 4.1 million minted

If you need these coins for your collection, let me know & & I'll send you a circulated version of each with the CoF coins I'm sending.

Oh and hi again guys, while I'm at it, is it actually OK to clean your coins with toothpaste? I think I have been damaging my coins by doing this. I just recently knew about how cleaning coins destroys its value. I can see that some of my coins have lost its shininess and starting to like 'tarnish' and have 'spots'. At least that's what I think. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for being a pain. :(

Re: cleaning: Yes, the general rule is, "don't clean coins". The main reason for this is that a badly cleaned coin looks much, much worse than a dirty coin. Some coins do need cleaning - for instance, coins found buried in the ground. But a circulated coin found in change shouldn't need cleaning. Once a coin has lost it's shininess (either through careless handling or through actually being used as money), it can't be made shiny again, and attempting to do so almost always makes the coin look worse.

The most extreme form of cleaning usually recommended for 'dirty' coins is mild soap and warm water. With a typical pH range of 8 to 10, toothpaste is too alkaline to qualify as "mild soap", and will likely damage the surface of lustrous coins - especially aluminium-containing alloys like those used in our $1 and $2. Then there's the question of all the additives normally included in toothpaste. I don't really want my coins to smell minty fresh.

Re: "first the book, then the coins": an excellent philosophy, and one which has been drummed into me by all the old guys down at the coin club. For you, I would heartily recommend buying the Renniks or Maccas catalogues of Australian coins. The latest editions of both have just recently been released, normally costing around $30. That may seem like a lot of "wasted money" to a YN, but money spent on books is never wasted money. If you can't afford that much, the dealers might still have older editions of the books in stock for a reduced price.

And, some toothpastes are abrasive! Cleans your teeth really well but, what does it do to the enamel? I suspect just like continually using cutting polish on your car will eventually take enough top coat off for the undercaoat to start showing through. Anyway, not recommended for coins.
I do use mild detergent and water with a toothbrush and also methylated spirits (rubbing alcohol) or laquer thinner to remove things like Blue Tac, permanent marker etc. (followed by a good wash and rinse.
Does anyone have any thoughts on ultrasonic cleaners? I know they are really good for cleaning jewellery (although I managed to shake a diamond loose from a work colleague's engagement ring and tip it down the sink. Luckily it was in the S trap and she believed my explanation that it was probably about to fall out anyway and better then than some random time later).

Jeff