The RAAF received its first F-35A in 2018 at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, years before the aircraft was declared operational in Australia — the centenary issue captures a jet still mid-integration into the force at the time of striking. Pad printing, rather than traditional relief or enamel, was used to render the detail, a technique the Royal Australian Mint has deployed on select commemoratives since the 2010s to achieve colour and precision that conventional dies cannot.
The RAAF received its first F-35A in 2018 at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, years before the aircraft was declared operational in Australia — the centenary issue captures a jet still mid-integration into the force at the time of striking. Pad printing, rather than traditional relief or enamel, was used to render the detail, a technique the Royal Australian Mint has deployed on select commemoratives since the 2010s to achieve colour and precision that conventional dies cannot.