Harley and his family had camped out on the front steps of the Royal Australian Mint in Deakin since December 27 to ensure they were first in the queue, with 100 or so people behind them on New Year's Day.

But before the doors to the Mint even opened, Derek Kiddy, who frames the commemorative coin, offered Harley $2000 for the number one ticket.

''He offered me $800 last year and I said no, and I'll say no again today,'' Harley said. ''I might hold out for a few years and see how high he goes.''

Collecting coins is about more than the money for Harley. He's a third-generation collector who became interested in coins when his mother Carolyn passed on the coins she had gathered over the years with her own father.

The whole experience is a family affair. Harley is a triplet, his brothers Dylan and Cameron were in line right behind him, with parents Sal and Carolyn and younger brother Jaxon, 10, taking up the first six tickets.

For five nights they've camped on the front steps of the Mint, with a bucket for an after hours toilet and a regular supply of food coming from relatives in Queanbeyan. There's been games of handball and cricket, plenty of texts to mates back home, and Sal and Carolyn saw in the New Year with a quiet beer.

''It's had it's moments,'' said Carolyn, ''But it's been real quality family time. We've really enjoyed it. They're good boys and they all know how passionate Harley is about his coins. It's great to see them supporting him like this.''

The family has made the trip from their Liverpool home an annual event. Lining up for the first coin of 2013 in late December 2012, Harley also won a lottery to mint the last coin for 2012. He completed his 2013 set on Tuesday, minting the last coin of the year as well.

The 2014 commemorative coin features an artistic impression of Australia and a stylised tall ship in full sail within a compass rose, marking the 200th anniversary of Matthew Flinders' journal A Voyage to Terra Australis.

Ross MacDiarmid, the chief executive officer of the Mint, said it was great that young people such as Harley were becoming increasingly interested in coin collecting.

''When I started here at the Mint three years ago I thought coin collecting was a dying thing, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the number of young people who are becoming involved in the industry.''

There are some major milestones for the Mint in the next couple of years. 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the Mint itself and 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of decimal currency. This year will also see the release of an ANZAC series of coins to mark the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli.