An Australian soldier stands before a tomb that holds a man without a name: this 2015 20-cent coin is devoted to the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier in the Hall of Memory of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

The reverse inscription could hardly be shorter: «WW1 - THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER». Behind it lies a story that took 75 years to unfold. For decades the Unknown Warrior buried in Westminster Abbey in 1920 was held to stand for the fallen of the whole British Empire, and Australia received a tomb of its own only in 1993. The remains of a First World War soldier were brought from Adelaide Cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux, scene of a major Australian victory on Anzac Day 1918.

He was laid to rest on 11 November 1993, the 75th anniversary of the Armistice. A bayonet and a sprig of wattle were placed in the Tasmanian blackwood coffin, and soil from the Pozières battlefield was scattered in the tomb. Prime Minister Paul Keating said of him: «He is all of them. And he is one of us».

The coin belongs to the 14-coin «Anzacs Remembered» series — thirteen 20-cent pieces and a dollar with a red poppy — issued by the Royal Australian Mint together with News Corp newspapers, Westpac and Legacy. The reverse designs were based on photographs chosen with staff of the Australian War Memorial. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley’s portrait of Elizabeth II.

The coin comes in its souvenir packaging, the coincard in which the series was distributed. UNC grade: the coin never circulated, shows no wear and keeps its mint lustre. For a First World War collection this is arguably the most moving subject of the series.

VPcoins is an online shop of coins and banknotes where a collector can find both the missing pieces and new directions for a collection.