The one dollar coin denomination (written as $1) was introduced in Australia in 1984, replacing the earlier banknotes. The original definitive type featuring five kangaroos has not been changed since its introduction and is still issued regularly.
Apart from the regular design, the Royal Australian Mint issues a large variety of circulating commemorative one dollar coins which have the same specifications and circulate in parallel with the definitive type - such as this one.
This circulating commemorative one-dollar coin is part of the AFL Collectable Coins Series issued by the Royal Australian Mint in partnership with Australia Post. The series features twenty coins - one for the Australian Football League (AFL), one for AFL Women's (AFLW), and eighteen coins each featuring a member club of the AFL. This coin features the Essendon Football Club.
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent and only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season in 1897. It changed its name to Australian Football League in 1990 after expanding its competition to other Australian states in the 1980s.
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, was formed by the McCracken family in their Ascot Vale home "Alisa", and while the exact date is unknown, it is generally accepted to have been in 1872. The club's first recorded game took place on 7 June 1873 against a Carlton Second 20. From 1878 until 1896, the club played in the Victorian Football Association, then joined seven other clubs in October 1896 to form the breakaway Victorian Football League (later changed to AFL in 1990).
$1 coins issued in 2023 have now been in circulation for less than one year. |