Australian one-dollar coin

The Australian one-dollar coin is the second most valuable circulation denomination coin of the Australian dollar after the two-dollar coin; there are also non-circulating legal-tender coins of higher denominations (five-, ten-, and two-hundred-dollar coins).

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 in Canberra.

Four portraits of Queen Elizabeth II have featured on the obverse, the 1984 head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin; between 1985 and 1998, the head by Raphael Maklouf; between 1999 and 2009, the head by Ian Rank-Broadley; and since 2019, the effigy of Elizabeth II by artist Jody Clark 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. One-dollar coins bearing the portrait of King Charles III entered circulation in December 2023.

The reverse features five kangaroos. The image was designed by Stuart Devlin, 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 2012. No one-dollar coin with any mint mark was ever released for circulation; any dollars found with such mark comes for a card.

One-dollar 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 one-dollar coin was released in 1984, some of which were not released into circulation.

Year Subject Mintage 1986 International Year of Peace 25,200,000 1988 Commemoration the Australian Bicentennial 21,600,000 1993 Landcare Australia 18,200,000 1996 Sir Henry Parkes 26,200,000 1997 Birth of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith 24,400,000 1999 International Year of Older Persons 29,300,000 2001 Centenary of Federation 27,900,000 International Year of Volunteers 6,000,000 2002 Year of the Outback 35,400,000 2003 Australia's Volunteers 4,100,000 Centenary of Women's Suffrage 10,000,000 2005 60th Anniversary of the End of World War II 34,200,000 2007 Australia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum 20,100,000 2008 Centenary of Scouting in Australia 17,200,000 2009 100th Year of the Age Pension 21,300,000 2010 Centenary of Girl Guiding in Australia 12,600,000 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 9,400,000 2014 –2018 Centenary of ANZAC 2014–2018 21,900,000 (2014)1,400,000 (2015)2,190,000 (2016) 1,900,000 (2017) 2,000,000 (2018) 2016 50th Anniversary of Decimal Currency 560,0002019Australia’s Dollar Discovery – 35 years of the Australian $1 coin. 1,513,000 (Letter A) 1,512,000 (Letter U) 1,512,000 (Letter S) 2020 Celebrating a 100 years of Qantas2,000,000 2020 – 2021 Donation Dollar – the world's first one dollar coin designed to be donated 12,500,000 (2020) 5,000,000 (2021) 2024 Bluey (TV series) – Three coins, one of Bluey Heeler, one of the Heeler family, and one of Bluey and Bingo Heeler dressed as old women/grannies 2025 Bluey (TV series) – Two coloured coins, both shows Bluey Heeler and Bingo Heeler celebrating an Australian summer Christmas 2026 "Mob of Six Roos" - 60th anniversary of decimal currencyReferences:

Australian one-dollar coin

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