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 and $1 coins have been minted in commemoration, however in 2012 a commemorative $2 coin was minted for Remembrance Day and in 2016 a 25c gold coin was minted for Anzac Day.
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2 dollar coin
Australia's first commemorative $2 coin was released in 2012 to commemorate Australia's involvement in wars.
Circulation releases
The 2012 commemorative $2 coin was minted to acknowledge Remembrance Day. It features a poppy in the centre on a background of microtext, reading: "remembrance day" and "lest we forget". There are also poppies on either side of the main design. The obverse features the third effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, and "Australia 2012". A coloured version of the coin is also to be circulated, (with a mintage of around 500,000), as Australia's first coloured circulating coin. As Canada also has coloured circulating coins, Australia is now the second country to do so.
Non-circulation collector coins
The coloured version of the 2012 coin was first distributed in limited mintage through RSLs, to go along with their traditional red poppy appeal to celebrate the 2012 Remembrance Day. The same coin is also being sold with a 'C' mintmark through the official numismatic program as a collector coin.
1 dollar coin
Not all years have issues for circulation with 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 only in mintpacks. Issue 1984, 1985, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 are the only issue with the Kangaroo portrait. Some uncirculated coins have the mintmarks for Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra and were issues for the show periods.