2021 $2 Indigenous Military Service Coin - UNC

 

Specification

• COUNTRY OF ISSUE: Australia
• ISSUED BY: Royal Australian Mint
• ERA: 2021
• DENOMINATION: 2 Dollar
• FINISH: UNC
• WEIGHT: 6.60g
• METAL: AlBr
• MARK: -
• MINTAGE: -

Despite restrictions in the 1903 Defence Act preventing those “not substantially of European origin or descent” from enlisting, thousands of Indigenous Australians volunteered to serve the nation that denied them the rights they were fighting to defend.

Once accepted for service, individuals often experienced a sense of friendship and equality that was absent from civilian life, with access to training, education, travel and equal pay.