1946 Australia Half penny with raised dots

[KurtS]

Yes--another Australia variety/error, only this time I'm not sure what!

After seeing a fellow collector's 1946 1/2d with numerous raised dots, I thought I'd check my 46-P. Sure enough, on my coin the effigy has a few prominent, round dots in relief. Any ideas why this occured--stray tool marks or improperly hardened dies and wear? Beyond the abrasions, I think I'm seeing flow lines and other signs of die wear.

Shot at an angle to bring out minor relief:

Yes, there is also something going on with upper lip.

[Robert]

Acne or piercings, I can't tell.

I've never seen that phenomenon before on an Aus coin. I've heard of similar "dots" in the denticles around Indian cents and that was one theory. Do the other coins have the same raised dots in the same place or different places?

Just a shot in the dark, but it might be the result of a mint employee determining the hardness of the die after heat treatment. They may have used a punch or a hardness tester which leaves a round indentation in the metal. The softer the metal, the larger the indentation for a given metal hardness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinell_hardness_test

There are two old books you might like to find: The "Cataloge of Australian Coin Varieties" by Foster; and "The Australian Coin Varieties Catalogue" by Dean. There was also "The Australian Coin Review" magazine published in the '60s. I have no idea how to find any of these but finding one would be quite helpful/interesting.