1 Dollar - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait - Milne Bay

Issued in 2017 as part of Australia's ongoing commemorative program marking the 75th anniversary of pivotal Second World War campaigns in the Pacific, the Milne Bay coin honors the August–September 1942 battle that became the first land defeat of Japanese forces in the Pacific theatre. The Imperial Japanese Navy's Special Naval Landing Forces — considered elite troops — were repulsed by Australian army units and RAAF fighter support operating from the newly constructed airstrips at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea.

The outcome at Milne Bay carried strategic weight well beyond the size of the engagement itself.