1 Cent - Elizabeth II (4th Portrait)

The Australian 1-cent coin was originally introduced in 1966 alongside the decimalization of the Australian currency system. By 2006, however, the coin had long been withdrawn from general circulation due to the rising cost of production relative to its face value, leading to the formal discontinuation of both the 1-cent and 2-cent pieces in 1992. The 2006 issue was minted exclusively as part of special collector sets issued by the Royal Australian Mint to commemorate the 40th anniversary of decimal currency.

The design features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, which was adopted for Australian coinage in 1999. The reverse retains the iconic Stuart Devlin design of a feathertail glider, a small marsupial native to Australia. While the coin serves as a nostalgic memento of a retired denomination, its production in 2006 was strictly limited to numismatic collectors, marking a brief return of the denomination for archival purposes rather than monetary use.