Coins of the Australian dollar are circulated with different designs depicting various anniversaries or significant Australian events, these differing coin designs being labelled Australian commemorative coins. Typically, only the 20c, 50c, $1 and $2 coins have been minted in commemoration.
Australia's first commemorative $2 coin was released in 2012 to commemorate Remembrance Day. It features a poppy in the centre on a background of microtext, reading: "remembrance day" and "lest we forget".[1] As Canada also has coloured circulating coins, Australia is now the second country to do so.[2]
| Year Issued | Commemorative Subject | Total in set | Reverse Designer[3] | Reverse Design | Mintage Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Remembrance Day – Red Poppy | 1 | Aaron Baggio | Coloured red poppy centre on microtext background. | 503,000[4] |
| Remembrance Day – Gold Poppy | 1 | Aaron Baggio | Non-coloured poppy centre on microtext background. | 5,799,000 | |
| 2013 | 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic | Concentric purple stripes and a central design feature of St Edward's Crown. | 995,000 |
| 2014 | Remembrance Day – Dove | 1 | Royal Australian Mint | Designed to commemorate Remembrance Day with a dove and olive branch surrounded by concentric green circles and rays of sunlight. It was inspired by the Rising Sun badge. | 1,856,000[5] |
| 2015 | ANZAC Cove – Lest We Forget | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic | Designed to commemorate 100 years since the ANZAC Cove landing. Poppies and graves surround a red concentric circle encapsulating the words "Lest We Forget". | 1,466,000[6] |
| Flanders Field | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic[7] | Designed to commemorate the poem In Flanders Fields. Sculpted larks surrounding the orange coloured rings representing the sunset glow. | 2,151,000 | |
| 2016 | 50th anniversary of decimal currency | 1 | G. K. Gray[8] | 2016 obverse design to celebrate the 50th anniversary of decimal currency. | 2,885,000[9] [10] |
| Australian Olympic Team | 6 | Bronwyn King[11] | Released in partnership with Woolworths. Six versions were released, featuring the emblem of the Australian Olympic team with the various coin colours; blue, black, red, yellow, green, as well as a Paralympics coin. | 12,000,000 (2,000,000 of each)[12] | |
| 2017 | War Memorial Dome – Lest We Forget | 1 | Tony Dean[13] | Depiction of Napier Waller's mosaic from the Australian War Memorial's Hall of Memory. | 3,975,000 |
| Remembrance Day – Rosemary Sprig | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic[14] | Designed to commemorate Remembrance Day. Inner circle containing rosemary, surrounded by circle of pad printed rosemary leaves and flowers in green and purple. The word "Remembrance" is intertwined through the rosemary leaves. | 2,122,000 | |
| Possum Magic | 3 | Three Possum Magic coins minted; 'Sad, invisible Hush', 'Hush sees her tail' and 'Hush visible again'. | 2,000,000 of each[15] | ||
| 2018 | Eternal Flame – Lest We Forget | 1 | Bronwyn King[16] | Depiction of the eternal flame from the Australian War Memorial. | 5,400,000[17] |
| Invictus Games | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic (initials on coin) | Commemorating the 2018 Invictus Games, hosted in Sydney, Australia. Depicts the side view of an athlete in a wheelchair. | 2,100,000[18] | |
| Armistice | 1 | Tony Dean (initials on coin)[19] | Designed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918. Depicts the number 100 with a poppy in the middle zero. | 1,658,000 | |
| Australian Commonwealth Games Team | 3 | Emblem of the Australian Commonwealth Games team and their blue, green and gold colours. | 2,000,000 | ||
| 2019 | Centenary of Repatriation | 1 | Adam William Ball (initials on coin) | Old style Australian Defence Force badge surrounded by poppy pettles. The words "ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF REPATRIATION" surround the design. | 2,127,000 |
| Police Remembrance | 1 | Adam William Ball (initials on coin) | Standardised seven-pointed star police badge with inner circle depicting a crown surrounded by ring of blue and white checkered tape. | 2,000,000 | |
| Rugby Union | 1 | Colourised green and gold ring surrounding a wallaby holding a ball with "Wallabies Australia" on the outside. | 2,170,000 | ||
| Mr Squiggle | 4 | Four coins minted featuring 'Mr Squiggle', 'Bill the Steam Shovel', 'Gus the Snail' and 'Blackboard'. | 2,000,000 of each | ||
| 2020 | Australian Olympic Team | 6 | Emblem of the Australian Olympic team and their blue, green, gold, red and black colours and an additional coin for the Paralympics. | 2,450,000 of each | |
| ICC Women's T20 World Cup | 1 | Royal Australian Mint[20] | Released in partnership with Woolworths. Designed to commemorate the hosting of 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia. Depicts a female cricketer in front of stumps, surrounded by a coloured circle. | 2,182,000 | |
| Anniversary of the End of World War II | 1 | Tony Dean (initials on coin) | Designed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the End of World War II. A tri-coloured circle of green, blue and white representing the three armed forces involved in WWII is superimposed over a peace dove flying over a part of the globe with Australia visible on the bottom. | 600,000[21] | |
| Firefighters | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic (initials on coin) | Depicts a male and female firefighter standing back to back fighting a fire. An orange coloured ball of flame is superimposed in the centre. The word "FIREFIGHTERS" is placed at the bottom. | 1,600,000 | |
| 2021 | Indigenous Military Service | 1 | Chern’ee Sutton[22] | The inner circle features a black handprint and is surrounded by three rows of dots in the colours of the Defense Forces Tri-Service Flag. The outer circle contains various Aboriginal objects such as spears. | 1,000,000 |
| The Wiggles | 4 | 30th anniversary of the Wiggles. Four coins; 'Captain Feathersword', 'Wags the Dog', 'Henry the Octopus' and 'Dorothy the Dinosaur'. | 2,300,000 of each | ||
| Ambulance Services | 1 | Aaron Baggio[23] | The coin honours the 33,000 paramedics who worked in the various ambulance services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Depicts a male and female paramedic attending a patient on a stretcher. A green ring in the middle contains the Maltese cross. | 2,000,000 | |
| Aboriginal flag | 1 | Harold Thomas[24] | Designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Australian Aboriginal flag. | 2,000,000 | |
| 2022 | Australian Frontline Workers | 1 | Adam William Ball[25] | Designed to honour frontline workers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. A ring of 12 pictograms of frontline workers are depicted on the coin. | 2,000,000 |
| Honey Bee | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic | Two honey bees sit on a sphere with honeycomb shapes on the surface, surrounded by flowers and branches from a wattle tree. | 2,000,000 | |
| 75th Anniversary of Peacekeeping | 1 | Aleksandra Stokic | Two doves encircle a blue United Nations coloured centre whilst bearing olive branches in their mouths. | 2,000,000 | |
Not all years have issues for circulation with 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 2012 only in mint packs. Issue 1984, 1985, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 are the only issue with the Kangaroo portrait, however, the 2007 $1 with the kangaroo was also minted, but only for mint sets.
| Year Issued | Commemorative subject | Reverse designer | Reverse design | Mintage Figures[26] [27] [28] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | International Year of Peace | Horst Hahne | Hands holding a dove | 25,100,000 | |
| 1988 | First Fleet Bicentenary (200 years since English colonisation) | Stuart Devlin | Aboriginal design of a Koori Kangaroo | 20,400,000 | |
| 1993 | Landcare Australia | Vladimir Gottwald | Wavy lines and hands shaping Australia | 15,000,000 | |
| 1996 | Sir Henry Parkes Centenary | Wojciech Pietranik | Portrait of Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), "Father of Federation" | 26,200,000 | |
| 1997 | Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Birth Centenary (coin B) | Wojciech Pietranik | Portrait of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897–1935) and plane | 24,381,000 | |
| 1999 | International Year of Older Persons | Wojciech Pietranik | International Year of Older Persons logo "towards a society for all ages" | 29,218,000 | |
| 2001 | Centenary of Federation | Wojciech Pietranik | Centenary of Federation logo | 27,905,390 | |
| International Year of the Volunteer | Wojciech Pietranik | International year of volunteers logo | 6,000,000 | ||
| 2002 | Year of the Outback | Wojciech Pietranik | Year of Outback logo | 35,373,000 | |
| 2003 | Australia's Volunteers | Wojciech Pietranik | Stylised spiral roll symbolising the shape of the outline of Australia | 4,149,000 | |
| Centenary of Women's Suffrage | Vladimir Gottwald | Representation of the female figures in the suffrage banner by Dora Meeson Coates | 10,007,000 | ||
| 2005 | 60th anniversary of the end of World War II | Wojciech Pietranik | The Dancing Man | 34,200,000 | |
| 2007 | Wojciech Pietranik | Logo/Symbol of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum made up of a 7 pointed star itself made from 21 boomerangs | 20,100,000 | ||
| 2008 | Centenary of Scouts Australia | Caitlin Goodall | Depiction of the Australian spirit flame, the Australian Scout symbol which resembles the international Scouting symbol, the fleur-de-lis, incorporating the southern cross | 17,200,000 | |
| 2009 | Centenary of Commonwealth Age Pension | Wojciech Pietranik | Six adults and five children depicted representing pensioners or people dependent on age pensions | 10,158,000 | |
| 2010 | Centenary of Girl Guides Australia | Wojciech Pietranik | Depiction of the Australian Girl Guides Symbol which is the Girl Guides Trefoil with a 7 pointed Star in the top leaf of the Trefoil | 12,585,000 | |
| 2011 | Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting | Tim Leaversuch | Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011, Perth, Western Australia | 9,397,000 | |
| 2014 | ANZAC Centenary | Logo of the ANZAC centenary. Australian soldier with head bowed and rifle reversed in solemn reflection | 23,000,000 | ||
| 2015 | ANZAC Centenary | Logo of the ANZAC centenary. Australian soldier with head bowed and rifle reversed in solemn reflection | 1,400,000 | ||
| 2016 | ANZAC Centenary | Logo of the ANZAC centenary. Australian soldier with head bowed and rifle reversed in solemn reflection | 2,190,000 | ||
| 50th anniversary of Decimal Currency | Stuart Devlin | 2016 obverse design to celebrate the 50th anniversary of decimal currency | 560,000 | ||
| 2017 | ANZAC Centenary | Logo of the ANZAC centenary. Australian soldier with head bowed and rifle reversed in solemn reflection | 1,900,000 | ||
| 2018 | ANZAC Centenary | Logo of the ANZAC centenary. Australian soldier with head bowed and rifle reversed in solemn reflection | 2,000,000 | ||
| 2019 | Great Coin Hunt - one | A-Z (alphabet) coins issued featuring 'Iconic Australia'. A total of 26 coins issued. | 523,000 (each coin type) | ||
| Great Coin Hunt - one | A letter 'A' coin of the great coin hunt was released with a privy mark 'envelope'. | 14,500 | |||
| 2020 | Centenary of Qantas | Logo of Centenary of Qantas | 2,000,000 | ||
| 2020 | Donation Dollar | A dollar designed to be donated | 12,500,000 | ||
| 2021 | Great Coin Hunt - two | A-Z (alphabet) coins issued featuring 'Iconic Australia'. A total of 26 coins issued. | 456,000 (each coin type) | ||
| Great Coin Hunt - two | A letter 'G' coin of the great coin hunt was released with a coloured reverse. | 22,500 | |||
| Donation Dollar | A dollar designed to be donated | 5,000,000 | |||
| 2023 | Great Coin Hunt - three | A-Z (alphabet) coins issued featuring 'Iconic Australia'. A total of 26 coins issued. | |||
| Great Coin Hunt - three | A letter 'X' coin of the great coin hunt was released with a coloured reverse. | ||||
| Australian Football League premiership coin hunt | Twenty coins released featuring eighteen team badges and two featuring the AFL & AFLW winning cups | ||||
| Australian Football League premiership coin hunt | Two coins featuring the AFL & AFLW winning cups with coloured reverses. | ||||
| 2024 | Bluey (2018 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[29] |
| Year Issued | Commemorative subject | Reverse designer | Reverse design | Mintage Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Bicentenary of the exploration of the eastern coast of Australia by James Cook | Stuart Devlin | Portrait of Captain Cook with Australian map | 16,548,000 |
| 1977 | Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia | Stuart Devlin | Silver Jubilee design | 25,067,000 |
| 1981 | Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer | Stuart Devlin | Portraits of Prince & Princess of Wales | 20,000,000 |
| 1982 | XII 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane | Stuart Devlin | Commonwealth Games Theme | 49,610,200 |
| 1988 | First Fleet Bicentenary 1788-1988 | Michael Tracey | Ship | 8,100,000 |
| 1991 | 25th Anniversary of Decimal Currency | George Kruger Gray & Horst Hahne | Merino ram's head | 4,700,000 |
| 1994 | International Year of the Family | Carolyn Rosser | Family | 20,876,100 |
| 1995 | Louis Laumen & Horst Hahne | Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop | 15,869,200 | |
| 1998 | Vladimir Gottwald | Portrait of Bass & Flinders | 22,389,200 | |
| 2000 | Millennium Year 2000 | Vladimir Gottwald | Stylised Australian flag | 16,630,000 |
| Royal visit, also featuring a commemorative portrait of the Queen on the obverse. | Vladimir Gottwald | Flag pole at Parliament House | 5,145,000 | |
| 2001 | Centenary of Federation – Australia | 43,149,600 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – New South Wales | William Applegate Gullick. | New South Wales Coat of Arms | 3,042,000 | |
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – Australian Capital Territory | 2,000,000 | |||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – Queensland | 2,320,000 | |||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – Victoria | 2,800,000 | |||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – Northern Territory | 2,080,000 | |||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – Western Australia | 2,400,000 | |||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – South Australia | 2,400,000 | |||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – Tasmania | 2,160,000 | |||
| Centenary of Federation – States & Territories – Norfolk Island | 2,160,000 | |||
| 2002 | Year of the Outback | Wojciech Pietranik | 11,507,000 | |
| 2003 | Australia's Volunteers | Vladimir Gottwald | 13,927,000 | |
| 2004 | Student Design | Vladimir Gottwald & Student John Serrano, St Peter's Primary School, East Keilor | Animals: Wombat, Koala and Lorikeet | 10,577,000 |
| 2005 | Wojciech Pietranik | Soldier silhouettes by a grave | 21,033,000 | |
| Student Design – XVIII 2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne | 21,000,000 | |||
| 2010 | Commemorating Australia Day 2010 | Vladimir Gottwald | 11,452,000 | |
| 2014 | 50th anniversary of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies – AIATSIS | AIATSIS logo, based on a shield created by the Uw Oykangand people of North Queensland. | 3,000,000 | |
| 2016 | 50th anniversary of Decimal Currency | 2016 obverse design to celebrate the 50th anniversary of decimal currency | 7,000,000 | |
| 2017 | 25 Years – Mabo Decision & 50 Years – 1967 Referendum | Depiction of Eddie Mabo and Referendum How to Vote card from 1967 | 1,400,000 | |
| 2019 | International Year of Indigenous Languages | Features the words "International Year of Indigenous Languages" amidst 14 indigenous words that mean "money" | 2,000,000 | |
| 2022 | Australian Signals Directorate's (ASD) 75th anniversary | ASD cryptographic experts collaborated with the Royal Australian Mint to design the coins unique and enigmatic code | Features encrypted text:"WE ARE AUDACIOUS IN CONCEPT AND METICULOUS IN EXECUTION FIND CLARITY IN 7 WIDTH X 5 DEPTH" using Atbash cipher."BELONGING TO A GREAT TEAM STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE XOR HEX A5D75" encrypted with columnar transposition cipher."For 75 years the Australian Signals Directorate has brought together people with the skills, adaptability and imagination to operate in the slim area between the difficult and the impossible." encrypted with bitwise XORA bonus message encrypted with visual differences in the ciphertext font. | |
| Year Issued | Commemorative subject | Reverse designer | Reverse design | Mintage Figures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 50th Anniversary of the United Nations | Horst Hahne | UN emblem | 4,835,000 | |
| 2001 | Tribute to Sir Donald Bradman | Vladimir Gottwald | Donald Bradman in cricket gear, circular lettering | 10,000,000 | |
| Centenary of Federation – New South Wales | Student Joseph Neve from the Bellingen High School | NSW emblem | 3,202,500 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – Australian Capital Territory | Student Stacy Jo-Ann Paine from the Caroline Chisholm High School | Student Design | 2,100,000 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – Queensland | Student Jenifer Gray from the Ingham State High School | Student Design | 2,300,000 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – Victoria | Students Ryan Ladd & Mark Kennedy from the Lara Lake Primary School | Student Design | 2,900,000 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – Norfolk Island | Student Megan Cunnings from the Norfolk Island Central School | Student Design | 2,200,000 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – Northern Territory | Student Lisa Brett from the Leanyer School in Darwin | Student Design | 2,100,000 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – Western Australia | Student Janice Ng from the Forrestfield Senior High School | Student Design | 2,400,000 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – South Australia | Student Lisa Murphy from the Yankalilla Area School | Student Design | 2,400,000 | ||
| Centenary of Federation – Tasmania | Student Abbey MacDonald from the Launceston Church Grammar School | Student Design | 2,200,000 | ||
| 2003 | Australia's Volunteers | Vladimir Gottwald | 7,574,000 | ||
| 2005 | 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II | Vladimir Gottwald | WORLD WAR 1939-1945 COMING HOME lettering. | 33,500,000 | |
| 2010 | The Australian Tax Office Centenary 2010 | 11,575,000 | |||
| 2011 | Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton | 10,123,000 | |||
| International Women's Day 100th anniversary 1911-2011 | 6,773,000 | ||||
| International Year of Volunteers Plus 10 | 6,111,000 | ||||
| 2013 | Canberra Centenary | Aerial view of Canberra City layout | 6,083,000 | ||
| 2016 | 50th anniversary of Decimal Currency | 2016 obverse design to celebrate the 50th anniversary of decimal currency | 4,500,000 | ||
| 2022 | 90th Anniversary of ABC | Aleksandra Stokic |
