The coin collecting world is a little off-kilter this week with revelations a Sydney teenager who usually nabs first place in the race to secure the first coin struck for the new year is instead a little further down the queue.
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Every year since 2013, Harley Russo has grabbed the No.1 one position in the queue at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra for the honour of striking the first coin anywhere in the world in the new year and taking home the instantly-collectible and immediately-valuable item.
But this year, a Canberran has beaten him to the punch.
Belconnen teenager Luke Marshall grabbed first position in the queue when he arrived at the Mint at lunchtime on Christmas Day.
It's fifth time lucky for the 16-year-old who was seventh in line in 2013, ninth in line in 2014, eighth in line in 2015 and 10th in line in 2016.
Now he is in the box seat to strike the first coin anywhere in the world in 2017 at 10am on Sunday. He'll pay $3 for the coin which could be worth thousands to collectors. He'll also receive a certificate confirming the honour.
Luke couldn't believe his eyes when he arrived to find no one else at the Mint last Sunday.
"I was ecstatic," he said.
The recent graduate of Gold Creek School has been doing it tough since arriving at the Mint.
He has suffered severe sunburn and he suspects he might have experienced a bit of food poisoning from cooking up some meals on a little gas stove. Every night, he rolls out a sleeping bag on the concrete at the Mint entrance.
It's just made him more determined.
"I don't think I'll ever sell the coin because of all the hard work that's gone into getting it," he said.
Second in line on Friday was Luke's family friend Livio Petelin, of Kaleen.
And determined Harley is not out of the picture yet.
The now 17-year-old is planning to join the queue on Saturday.
His younger brother Jaxon , 13, was No. 4 in line on Friday and his mum Carolyn was No.5 .
Harley, who is a triplet, with brothers Cameron and Dylan, decided instead to go paint-balling on Friday.
Mrs Russo said Harley still planned to use his impressive coin collection as equity to buy his first house, probably at the end of 2017.
The family had decided to take a step back in the race for the first coin for 2017. They instead went to the Queanbeyan races to watch a relative's horse win.
"We sort of put family first this time," Mrs Russo said.
Also in line on Friday was third-placed Richard Hain of Griffith who was 13th in line for the 2016 coin. He arrived at the Mint on Wednesday, planning to get the coin for his four-year-old daughter Dali.
The first 100 visitors to strike a coin at the Mint on Sunday will also receive a certificate. It will be proof they were among the first of a forecast 300,000 visitors to walk through the doors of the Mint in 2017.
