A 50-cent Australian coin in the shape of a postage stamp and featuring a Chinese dragon and the Australian Olympic Committee logo on one side went on sale Tuesday to commemorate the Olympic Games in Beijing.

The other side of the coin has the image of British Queen Elizabeth II.

As a tribute to the Chinese belief in the lucky number eight, 8,000 of the coins are to be released for sale across the country, said the Australia Post, which is selling the collectibles ahead of the Aug 8 start of the Games.

'With the Beijing Olympic Games set to be one of the most spectacular and innovative Games of all time, we thought this was a fitting event to commemorate on Australia's first-ever stamp-coin,' said Noel Leahy, the philatelic manager for Australia Post.

The stamp-coin was produced by the Perth Mint and is priced at 89.95 Australian dollars (85.73 US dollars).