Unfortunately, the First World War did not turn out to be the ‘war to end all wars’. Just over twenty years after it came to an end on 11 November 1918, another global conflict broke out.

Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 was the beginning of the Second World War – the deadliest and most destructive conflict in human history.

The Second World War brought the threat of hostile foreign powers closer to home than ever. Darwin and other areas of northern Australia were bombed by Japanese forces in 1942 and 1943, with the first and most damaging air raid in February 1942 killing over 250 civilians and service personnel.

On 2 September 1945, the war came to an end at last with Japan’s formal surrender, which followed Germany’s surrender in May that year.

Commemorating the eightieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the Royal Australian Mint presents this 2025 $2 ‘C’ Mintmark Coloured Fine Silver Proof Coin. The coin’s reverse features a remembrance wreath, which comprises eight red poppies to represent the eight decades that have passed since the end of the war.