The one dollar coin circulating denomination (written as $1) was introduced in Australia in 1984, replacing the earlier banknotes. The original reverse design by Stuart Devlin featuring five kangaroos - known in Australia as the "Mob of Roos" design - has not been changed since its introduction.
The denomination is also used by both the Royal Australian Mint and the Perth Mint to issue an extensive range of collector coins, which are legal tender in Australia - such as this one.
This coin is part of an eleven-piece commemorative set celebrating the Centenary (100th anniversary) of Qantas.
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia, and is the third-oldest airline in the world after KLM and Avianca. The company was founded in November 1920; it began international passenger flights in May 1935. The Qantas name comes from "QANTAS", an acronym for its original name, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, as it originally served Queensland and the Northern Territory only. It is nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo".
The first coin in the set is made of pure copper; this is one of the ten which are made of Aluminium Bronze (same specifications as the circulating $1); all of them have coloured reverses and are in Brilliant Uncirculated grade. Each coin in the set is packaged in its own card with an explanatory text.
This coin commemorates the so-called Double Sunrise service which was formed in 1943 to re-establish the Australia to England air link that had been cut due to the fall of Singapore to the Japanese troops in 1942. The service initially operated from its base in Nedlands, Western Australia near Perth, to the Royal Air Force base at Lake Koggala near Galle in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The service carried mostly priority mail, and very few passengers. It was later extended to Karachi in India (now part of Pakistan), which was the terminus for the BOAC service from England. The name of the service was derived from the crew and passengers observing two sunrises on each flight. Another service over the Indian Ocean, named the "Kangaroo Service", was added in 1944; it was the first to feature the Flying Kangaroo logo.
The design of the coin features a Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat. Five of these machines, on loan from BOAC, serviced the flights. The plane seats only three passengers, has maximum take-off weight of 15,876 kg, cruise speed of 200 km/h and a range of 6,700 km.
These coins were made for collectors only. None of them were released into circulation. | 
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