Penny (Australian coin)

The Australian penny was a coin of the Australian pound used in the Commonwealth of Australia prior to decimalisation in 1966. It was worth one-twelfth of an Australian shilling and 1/240 of an Australian pound. The coin was equivalent in its dimensions, composition and value to the British penny, as the two currencies were fixed at par.

The coin was first introduced in 1911, and stopped being minted in 1965, with the introduction of decimalisation. When decimalisation happened on 14 February 1966, the coin value was equal to 0.8333¢.

The obverse of the coin featured the reigning Australian monarch. Three were featured: George V, George VI and Elizabeth II. All of the pennies featuring George VI and Elizabeth II had a kangaroo on the reverse. The kangaroo image was on the Australian half-penny and has since been included on the dollar coin and the bullion silver kangaroo.

During the George VI era, coins minted at Perth had a dot either at the end of the word "PENNY", after the word "AUSTRALIA" or in between the "K" and "G" above the end of the kangaroo's tail, while coins from Melbourne did not have a dot. An "I" under the bust of George VI denoted being minted in India. A "PL" mintmark after "PENNY" denoted minting in London, England. This continued through the end of the coin's lifetime.

Types

Image		Years		Technical parameters				Description / Legend / Designer
Obverse	Reverse	From	To	Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
		1911	1936	30.8 mm		9.45 g	Bronze: Cu 97.5%, Zn 2.0%, Sn 0.5%	Plain	George V GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT: OMN: REX FD IND:IMP: by Bertram Mackennal	ONE PENNY COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA by W.H.J. Blakemore
		1938	1948						George VI GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX: F:D: IND:IMP. by Thomas Hugh Paget	Kangaroo / Commonwealth Star AUSTRALIA PENNY by George Kruger Gray
		1949	1952						George VI GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX FIDEI DEF. by Thomas Hugh Paget
		1953	1955						Elizabeth II + ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA by Mary Gillick
		1959	1964						Elizabeth II + ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA.F:D: by Mary Gillick

Numismatics

A silver reproduction of the rare Australian 1930 penny

The 1930 penny is one of the rarest Australian coins, due to a very small number being minted[1] and holds the record as the most valuable copper penny in the world.[2] It is highly sought after by coin collectors, and a 1930 penny in very fine condition can be worth A$45,000 or more.[3]

Other "hard to get" years include 1925, 1946.

There are also some valuable varieties of the Australian penny. Most varieties arose as a result of either historical events that impacted normal operation of the country's coin mints or intended changes in the coin minting processes. For example, there is a cluster of 1931 penny varieties that evidences an experimental period of penny production at the Melbourne Mint during the start of the Great Depression. Additional varieties of the 1931 penny, such as the so called 'Unicorn Penny', are still being identified today.[4]

Another example is the cluster of 1920 penny varieties that evidences the transfer of dies from the Melbourne Mint to the Sydney Mint, which involved a series of experimental strikes in preparation for the first official pennies that were struck by the Sydney Mint in October 1920.[5] Similarly, the 1952 cluster of penny varieties arose when the Perth Mint began to produce its own pennies following a series of experimental strikes.[6]

While many penny varieties are common, there are some extremely rare and valuable examples, such as the 1930 English obverse penny,[7] the 1920 English obverse penny with a dot above the bottom scroll,[8] and the 1931 Unicorn Penny.[9]

Minting figures

The numbers below include specimens and proof issues, where mintage for them is known. Counting these, a total of 814,788,088 (815 million) coins of the denomination were minted during its existence.[10]

1911: 3,768,000
1912: 3,600,000
1913: 2,520,000
1914: 720,000
1915: 2,280,000
1916: 3,324,000
1917: 6,240,000
1918: 1,200,000
1919: 5,810,160
1920: 9,041,600
1921: 7,438,320
1922: 12,697,440
1923: 5,654,400
1924: 4,665,840
1925: 1,639,200
1926: 1,860,000
1927: 4,922,450
1928: 3,038,400
1929: 2,599,200
1930: unknown (usually estimated around 1600)
1931: 494,400
1932: 2,116,800
1933: 5,817,600
1934: 5,808,100
1935: 3,724,900
1936: 9,890,400
1937: 12 (unreleased pattern)
1938: 5,552,650
1939: 6,240,000
1940: 5,188,800
1941: 14,382,800
1942: 21,244,800
1943: 53,198,400
1944: 29,942,000
1945: 15,172,806
1946: 240,000
1947: 11,174,400
1948: 28,150,000
1949: 27,064,800
1950: 57,846,800
1951: 52,128,000
1952: 57,922,000
1953: 13,138,816
1955: 17,447,101
1956: 25,994,917
1957: 15,979,112
1958: 24,443,334
1959: 16,048,136
1960: 20,516,230
1961: 30,608,240
1962: 34,852,664
1963: 10,259,660
1964: 64,590,000
1965: none ever sighted

References

Bruce, Colin R.; Thomas Michael (2005). 2006 Standard Catalog of World Coins (1901–present). KP Books. p. 67. ISBN 0-87349-987-5.

External links

Preceded by British one penny coin	Penny 1911–1964	Succeeded by Denomination Abolished

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Numismatics: Australia: 1930 penny

[2] Proof 1930 penny sold for $1.15 million

[3] Why Invest in Rare Coins and Banknotes Archived 30 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia, Vol. 29

[5] ttp://www.benchmarkcoincatalogue.com/catalogue/coin/460

[6] Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia, Vol. 11

[7] ttp://www.benchmarkcoincatalogue.com/catalogue/coin/481

[8] ttp://www.benchmarkcoincatalogue.com/catalogue/coin/460

[9] Dr Y. Rapoport's research on the Unicorn Penny

[10] "Penny from Australia". Online Coin Club.