AUSTRALIAN PENNY VARIETIES

 

See also the separate article on the King George V London and Indian Die varieties.

A significant number of minor obverse and reverse design variations exist throughout the Australian Penny series, issued between 1911 and 1964.

The design variations used to identify the mint of issue were fairly easy to spot, but not obvious to the uninitiated. They included:

  • A small 'H' below the lower scroll on the reverse to identify the Heaton Mint (London) in 1912 and 1915.
  • A small 'I' below the lower scroll on the reverse to identify the Calcutta Mint (India) in 1916, 1917 and 1918.
  • Small dots in various combinations above and below the reverse scrolls to identify London, Melbourne and Sydney Mint issues in 1919 and 1920.
  • A small dot between the 'K' and 'G' of the designers initials on the reverse to identify the Perth Mint in 1941 and 1941.
  • A dot after 'PENNY' on the reverse to identify the Perth Mint in 1941-45, 1947-48, 1950-51 and 1955-64.
  • A small 'I' below the head on the obverse to identify the Bombay Mint (India) in 1942 and 1943.
  • The tiny letters 'PL' just inside the reverse rim below the date to identify the London Mint in 1951.
  • A dot after 'AUSTRALIA' on the reverse to identify the Perth Mint in 1952 and 1953.
More subtle varieties were produced as working dies wore out and were replaced. The new working dies were occassionally slightly modified either intentionally (for example to improve the flow of metal during a strike), or unintentionally (for example when a stray piece of metal lodged in the die). Varieties were also created when worn dies continued to be used long after they should have been replaced. A selection of varieties from the Australian penny series are listed in the following table.

 

YearMintmarkVariety Description
1913Wide date figures.
1922Wide gap (1.5mm) between 1 and 9 in date.
1924Filled 4 in date.
1925Broken 1st leg of 2nd N in PENNY.
1928Broken base of 8 in date.
1928Broken base of O in OMN.
1929Broken base of O in OMN and lower dot of colon after N missing.
1931Mis-aligned second figure 1 in date.
1931Dropped second figure 1 in date (Indian die)
1932Figure 3 in date tilted to left.
1934Dot before ONE on reverse.
1935Dot between N and Y in PENNY on reverse.
1936Broken top of figure 3 in date.
1939Bar near rim after last A in AUSTRALIA on reverse.
1941Y.Dot high after PENNY on reverse.
1943ILarge denticles around rim on reverse.
1945Y.Dot after KG on reverse.
1952Pellet on right edge of 9 in date.
1952A.Tall figure 2 in date.
1952A.Figure 2 in date tilted to right with pointed serif.
1952A.Figure 2 in date with square serif.
1952A.Figure 2 in date with wedge serif.
1953Long top bar of 5 and narrow right vertical of 3 in date.
1955Y.Two 5's in date are close together.
1957Y.Wide figure 7 in date.
1961Y.Faint first figure 1 in date.
1962Y.Double nose on portrait on obverse.
1964Y.Faint figure 4 in date.

A popular coin collecting theme are errors made in the minting process. A selection of error coins from the Australian penny series are listed in the following table:

 
YearMintmarkError Description
1916ILightweight - straight portion of rim missing - caused when a blank is struck beyond the end of the metal sheet.
1924Die cracks around legend on reverse.
1926Die crack inside legend on obverse.
1942Y.Off-center mis-strike.
1945Y.Brokage - inverse mirror of reverse on obverse.
1948Y.Off-center mis-strike.
1950Y.Off-center mis-strike.
1959Y.Off-center mis-strike.
1962Y.Upset alignment between obverse & reverse (die rotation).
1963Y.Lightweight - straight portion of rim missing.
1963Y.Upset alignment between obverse & reverse.
1963Y.Off-center mis-strike.
1964Flipped strike - previous coin not completely ejected from coin press.
1964Y.Off-center mis-strike.

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