<Tr> <Th> Design date </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> The Australian one - dollar coin is the second-most - valuable circulation denomination coin of the Australian dollar after the two - dollar coin; there are also non-circulating legal - tender coins of higher denominations (five -, ten -, two - hundred - dollar coins and the one - million - dollar coin). </P> <P> It was first issued on 14 May 1984 to replace the one - dollar note which was then in circulation, although plans to introduce a dollar coin had existed since the 1970s . The first year of minting saw 186.3 million of the coins produced at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra . </P> <P> Three portraits of Queen Elizabeth II have featured on the obverse, the 1984 head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin; between 1985 and 1998 the head by Raphael Maklouf; and since 1999 the head by Ian Rank - Broadley . The coin features an inscription on its obverse of AUSTRALIA on the right - hand side and ELIZABETH II on the left - hand side . </P>

When were $1 coins introduced in australia