2011 $1 Centenary of Australian Commonwealth Bronze Coinage 1oz Silver Coloured Proof CoinIssued in 1911, Australias first penny and halfpenny appeared a year later than the nations first silver coins. Made by the Royal Mint in England, they portrayed Sir E. B. Mackennals effigy of King George V, who had ascended to the throne on the death of his father, King Edward VII, on 6 May 1910. The coloured reverse of the 2011 commemorative coin portrays King George V and a montage of the first distinctive Australian penny and halfpenny coins.