100 Gems - July birthstone ruby

Australia's 100 Gems series is a commemorative polymer program issued through the Royal Australian Mint and the Reserve Bank of Australia, assigning a gemstone to each release rather than a denomination with any meaningful purchasing power. The face value is purely nominal — these circulate as collectibles, not currency. The ruby issue ties to the traditional July birthstone calendar, a nineteenth-century standardization formalized by the American National Retail Jewelers Association in 1912, which is itself a commercial invention rather than ancient tradition.