Information about effigy: Coat of Arms of Australia, 1908

The first Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia was authorised by King Edward VII by a royal Warrant on 7 May 1908.

The design of the Coat of Arms is:
at centre, simple shield enclosing a cross of Saint George on which are five six-pointed stars, around the outside of which are six small escutcheons (small shields). The shield is supported by a kangaroo and an emu standing on a grassy mound. Above the shield a crest, the seven-pointed star of Federation on a wreath and on a ribbon at the base, the motto ADVANCE AUSTRALIA is inscribed.

On 19 September 1912 King George V granted a new Coat of Arms to the country. However, the old one remained on most of the silver coinage until it was re-designed in 1938, and most notably on the Australian sixpence coins until 1963 because that denomination was not re-designed.

Note that the Coat of Arms appears on the reverse of the coins, since the obverse is reserved for the monarch's effigy.