The Australian 50 cent denomination is a large dodecagonal (12-sided) copper-nickel circulating coin; apart from the usual design featuring the Australian Coat of Arms (by Stuart Devlin) which has not been changed since its introduction, the denomination is also often used to issue circulating commemorative coins with various reverses. It is one of the heaviest coins in regular circulation in the world.
Apart from the circulating coinage, the Royal Australian Mint has an extensive program issuing 50 cent coins for collectors (Non-Circulating Legal Tender, or NCLT). Most of them share the same specifications with the circulating coins. However, some of them are 14-sided (a Tetra-Decagon) and are not compatible with the circulating coinage.
This coin was issued to commemorate 50 years since the Battle of Long Khanh.
The Battle of Long Khanh (6-7 June 1971) was fought during the Vietnam War between elements of 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) and the Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during Operation Overlord. The fighting saw Australian infantry from 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) attack a heavily fortified communist base camp in Long Khanh Province, while Centurion tanks providing close support crushed many bunkers and their occupants. Regardless, the VC fought hard to delay the Australian advance and although the bunker system was subsequently captured, along with a second system further south, the Australians suffered a number of casualties and the loss of a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter. With the Australians unable to concentrate sufficient combat power to achieve a decisive result, the bulk of the VC/PAVN force successfully withdrew intact, although they probably sustained heavy casualties in the process.
No coins of this type were released into circulation. | 
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