The Australian one-dollar coin is the second most valuable circulation denomination coin of the
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island s ...
after the
two-dollar coin; there are also non-circulating legal-tender coins of higher denominations (five-, ten-, two-hundred-dollar coins
and the one-million-dollar coin
).
It was first issued on 14 May 1984
to replace the
one-dollar note which was then in circulation, although plans to introduce a dollar coin had existed since the mid-1970s.
The first year of minting saw 186.3 million of the coins produced at the
Royal Australian Mint
The Royal Australian Mint is the sole producer of all of Australia's circulating coins and is a Commonwealth Government entity operating within the portfolio of the Treasury. The Mint is situated in the Australian federal capital city of Canberr ...
in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.
Four portraits of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
have featured on the obverse, the 1984 head of Queen Elizabeth II by
Arnold Machin
Arnold Machin OBE, R.A., FRSS (; 30 September 1911 – 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer.
Life
Machin was born Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china pai ...
; between 1985 and 1998, the head by
Raphael Maklouf
Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculpture, sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations ...
; between 1999 and 2009, the head by Ian Rank-Broadley; and since 2019, the effigy of Elizabeth II by artist
Jody Clark
Jody Clark (born 1 March 1981) is a British engraver formerly employed by the Royal Mint. He designed the fifth and final portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to feature on coins of the pound sterling, and that portrait was the fifth and final to f ...
has been released into circulation. The coin features an inscription on its obverse of AUSTRALIA on the right-hand side and ELIZABETH II on the left-hand side.
The reverse features five
kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
s. The image was designed by
Stuart Devlin
Stuart Leslie Devlin (9 October 1931 – 12 April 2018) was an Australian artist and metalworker who specialised in gold and silver. He designed coins for countries around the world, and became especially well known as London-based design ...
, who designed Australia's first decimal coins in 1966.
The one-dollar denomination was only issued in coin sets in 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, and finally 2012. No one-dollar coin with any mint mark was ever released for circulation; any dollars found with such mark comes for a card.
$1 coins are legal tender for amounts not exceeding 10 times the face value of the coin for any payment of a debt.
Commemorative issue
The Royal Australian Mint has released a number of commemorative issued coins since the Australian $1 was released in 1984, some of which were not released into circulation.
See also
*
Coins of the Australian dollar
Coins of the Australian dollar were introduced on 14 February 1966, although they did not at that time include the one-dollar or two-dollar coins. The dollar was equivalent in value to 10 shillings (half a pound) in the former currency.
Regul ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
Australian Decimal CurrencyAustralian Coins: Type CollectingCoins from Australia / Coin Type: One Dollar - Online Coin Club
{{Australian currency
Currencies introduced in 1984
Decimal coins of Australia
One-base-unit coins