Though its exact origins are disputed, the dawn service is known to have occurred in some form for more than a century. It has become an integral part of Anzac Day in Australia, with tens of thousands of people – service personnel and civilians alike – attending services across the country in a spirit of remembrance and reflection.

A typical dawn service includes a commemorative address, laying of wreaths, playing of military bugle calls, and a one or two minute period of silence. Some services also include the mounting of a catafalque party, an armed guard of four personnel which attends to a catafalque (traditionally a platform containing a coffin, but it may be represented by a shrine). The traditional bugle calls are ‘Last Post’ and ‘Reveille’, which are played before and after the period of silence respectively.

The Royal Australian Mint commemorates the dawn service with this stunning coin design. The sun rising over the ocean is colour printed and beautifully complements the aluminium bronze background.