A few nice AUS Pennies

[KurtS]

I have a dealer near me who lets me look through some great caches of coins. Today, he let me look through his Australia pennies. Here's a few that I found:

A beautiful 1911 Penny that retains some flat, lustrous fields (I wish it would photograph)



A 1913 Halfpenny in better shape than a typical bargain bin coin:



A fairly worn 1944-M Penny (2.4M mintage) that has a lamination defect running from the nose across the head:



1942-I Penny. Is it just me, or is this a slightly different Kangaroo design?


So far, no luck finding a 1925, 1930 (lol), or 1946 Penny. Yet I'm pretty happy with this group! [d-pepper]

[Bob P]

Very nice looking group of coins for the date. I think the difference in the Kangaroo is only the die state. There is a lot more detail on the 1942 than the worn 1944. Still...very nice coins.

[Steven]

I have this 1943 and have one other to compair it with. The star to the left of the Roo in the previously posted '42 and '44 look to be the same as one of my '43's but this one looks to have possibly a strong doubling to it. What do you think.

Thanks Steven

[KurtS]

Steven, that's interesting--are there separated points to the star?

Regarding differences on the Pennies minted in India, here's what an Aussie dealer told me:

The 1942I has a different obverse and reverse to the Melbourne and Perth coins.
This obverse has been the subject of much discussion. I cannot recall where I sourced this information from, though pretty sure it was Paul Holland's writings. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, and I do humbly apologise. I have Shortened a little as well.
The Melbourne and Perth mints could not satisfy demand for Australian coins in 1942, 43 and 44, so contacts were let for the Half pennies and pennies to the Bombay mint. Bombay coins can usually be recognised by the letter "I" being placed under George VI's portrait on the obverse. However it is well known that some 1942 pennies struck in Bombay do not show the "I" mint mark. Being wartime, the need for coins was urgent.
There were master dies sent from Melbourne. They were made at the Melbourne Mint and did not have an "I" on them for the excellent reason, Melbourne did not possess an "I" punch.
It seems that, the need being urgent, they were put to use immediately on arrival, and later a new master tool was struck using an "I" in Bombay's possession or which they acquired from elsewhere.

The dies which Bill Mullett sent from Melbourne to Bombay would surely have been the same as those sent to Perth, i.e. obverse 3 and reverse D. If that were the case then clearly those were not the dies used in Bombay.
Conjecture is that the dies from Melbourne presented the Bombay Mint something of a technical challenge. Perhaps its coining presses could not render the high-relief designs properly so the Bombay Mint elected to prepare new tools more suitable for its equipment. Hence the introduction of a new obverse (4 Bombay) with fewer rim denticles and differing lettering font, as well as the differing (E Bombay) reverse.

[Steven]

Sorry my photos are not very clear. I do not see a separation in the points of the star. The photo in this post does not show the extra thickness and does not have the first dot to the left of PENNY either? This one does not have the "I" under King George and my previous posted photo does.

[Robert]

KurtS,

Those are some really nice examples. I'd love to spend about a week going through all those caches!

1911= XF at least becuase all 4 pairs of dots (8 dots total) in the headband are present plus the mustache tip is distinct.

1913=VF because 3 pairs (6 dots total) are there plus the mustache tip is fading.

I've seen quite a few lamination defects in Aus coins. Not sure why.

I have a book called "The Guidebook & Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins 1660-1969" and in it there are many Aussie varieties not shown in Krause. Interesting stuff. They describe a 1913 penny with "3 upright" and "3 slanted to left" in the date but don't give valuations. No varieties are shown for 1911 or 1944 and the only 1942 variety is the "no dot after Y". Nothing is said about a different roo design.

Those older coins are very nice... especially the 1911.

[Robert]

Steven,
For 1943, pennies were made in either Melbourne, Perth or Bombay.

-Melbourne coins have no mint mark or dots before/after "penny".

-Perth coins have a dot after "penny".

-Bombay coins have a small letter "I" below the bust and a dot before and after "penny".

Your first coin (the one w/ luster and a possible doubled die) is from Bombay and the second one is from Perth.

[Steven]

Thanks,
I have marked them as you have listed for the location of minting. I have a binder of Australian/British/Canadian/and Other foreign coins. Don't really collect them though they are interesting.

Thanks again.
Steven

[KurtS]

I think your photo is pretty good; the star could use a bit more scrutiny. Maybe it's some kind of MD? I notice a little doubling in AUSTRALIA as well.

Your last coin was minted in Perth versus Bombay. It's one of the more common AUS Pennies with a mintage of 33M. By contrast, your 43-I has a mintage of 9M, and the value given by Maccas (AUS catalogue) is about US $23 in EF. Note that Krause is completely wrong on values for better predecimal AUS coins. That comes in handy when buying coins here...I paid only $15 for that 1911 (BV of $90 in EF+, $200 in AU). Maccas gives $35 for the 1913 1/2d in VF (I paid $0.25)

Steven, there's a few key Aussie coins to watch for because they often get missed in the US. Such as the 1914H, 1915H, 1923, and 1939 Roo Halfpenny. For pennies, there are the 1915, 1918, 1925, 1946, and 1948-P. A few of those are quite valuable.

[Robert]

Mintmark locations for Aussie coins are surprisingly convoluted especially considering that Aus coins were first minted in 1910. They vary by mint, year, and denomination. I recommend getting hold of a Krause "Standard Catalog of World Coins" (library or a coin dealer) and noting all the mintmark locations because it can get confusing.

Also, if you're interested, back in the 1960s Whitman made a bunch of blue folders for collectors of Australian coins (half pennies through Crowns). I bet if you can still find these folders on the internet.

[KurtS]

I find that Krause doesn't touch on the mintmarks very well for Aus predecimal. Here is a nice visual key for mintmarks on George VI coins.

[Steven]

I went back to look closer and it does look to have separation in AUSTRALIA at the bottom of the lettering as well as some MD. I'm guessing class 2 doubling, what do you think. This is the best I could get on the photos close up.
Steven

[KurtS]

Well, I hardly an expert on doubled dies on AUS pennies, but there's something going on with that star--that's not MD. As for the lettering, I'll show those pics to some Aussie friends and see what they think.

[KurtS]

I posted those pics of your coin on an Australian predecimal forum, but didn't get much response. However, if my recent find is any indication, your coin may have show die doubling as well. The star on my coin definitely has some similarities.

[coppercoins]

That is a doubled die. Appears to be class 2 + 6 toward the inside of the design. I don't know whether they are common or scarce, nor do I know if there is an audience for them...but a doubled die it certainly is.