2015 $1 Blue Chequer Cock Unlikely Heroes Series Carded Coin - Mintage: 10,002

Product description

Issued by the Royal Australian Mint in 2015, this coloured frosted uncirculated one-dollar coin honours the Blue Chequer Cock pigeon DD.43.Q.879 as part of the six-coin Unlikely Heroes – Great and Small series.

During the Second World War, DD.43.Q.879 carried an urgent message from a US Marine patrol under attack on Manus Island after its radio had failed and two other pigeons had been shot down. The pigeon successfully reached headquarters, allowing assistance to be dispatched to the stranded patrol.

Known as “Q,” the pigeon served with the Australian Army during 1944 and received the Dickin Medal for its remarkable gallantry and devotion to duty.

The coin’s reverse features a coloured depiction of the Blue Chequer Cock against a blue sky, while the obverse carries the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.

Presented on its original Royal Australian Mint collector card, this Australian legal-tender release had an authorised maximum mintage of 30,000; however, only 10,002 coins were produced.

Please refer to the supplied photographs for the condition of the coin and presentation card.