The penny switched over to the Kruger Gray, or Kangaroo reverse in 1937, though no business strikes were issued until 1938, and continued with the design until 1952. The design features a Kangaroo jumping to the left with AUSTRALIA around the top of the design, PENNY around the bottom, and the year right above that, just behind the Kangaroo's legs. The obverse features an uncrowned bust of King George VI facing to the left and the legend, GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND ...
The penny switched over to the Kruger Gray, or Kangaroo reverse in 1937, though no business strikes were issued until 1938, and continued with the design until 1952. The design features a Kangaroo jumping to the left with AUSTRALIA around the top of the design, PENNY around the bottom, and the year right above that, just behind the Kangaroo's legs. The obverse features an uncrowned bust of King George VI facing to the left and the legend, GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND ...
The Royal Australian Mint has produced a silver kangaroo piece every year since 1993. This piece was designed by W. Pietranik and features two allied rock-wallabies. The reverse legend states
The Type I ten cent was issued from 1966 to 1984 with an additional proof striking in silver in 2006 as part of the 40th anniversary of decimal coinage set. The obverse features the Arnold Machin portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the reverse features Stuart Devlin's lyrebird design. Devlin's initials can be found to the right of the birds foot. Initials of designer Stuart Devlin on a 1970 Proof Ten Cent piece. The issue was struck at the Royal ...
Half sovereigns were struck at the Sydney, Melbourne and Perth mints from 1911 to 1920. Despite the relatively high proportion of surviving coins in AU or better, in recent times they have become difficult to acquire in true mint state condition, and beyond that very difficult, often being the victim of harsh cleaning or jewellery mounting. The George V half sovereign series was the sixth and final half sovereign series to be struck at Australian mints. The obverse, designed by Sir Edgar Bertram ...
Collecting old Australian coins provides a fascinating glimpse into Australia's history through its circulating coinage. While there is a general impression that old coins are too expensive for new collectors to collect that couldn't be further from the truth. For just a few dollars you could obtain a later year mint-state pre-decimal coin, and for less than the cost of a modern proof set you can purchase a George V (1911-1936) pre-decimal coin.
The debate on certified coins vs uncertified coins has been going on in Australia since PCGS first reached the mainstream Australian market back in 2008. While today most Australian coin collectors favour PCGS graded coins, a recent incident has reaffirmed the importance of and buying certified coins and valuing them first, especially when buying on-line.
By far the most common question we get asked is "what is my coin worth?" Perhaps you found a few old coins which is why you're here reading this article. Maybe you're a seasoned collector already looking to get more precise values for your coins than the printed catalogues can offer. Perhaps you're an investor looking to value your coin portfolio. This guide will cover all of that.
Although Australia had been a nation since 1901, it wasn't until 1910 that her first official coins were produced. While the Melbourne mint was producing sovereigns and half sovereigns at the time, these were technically Imperial British coins. The first coins issued specifically for Australia were struck in silver and of the denominations threepence, sixpence, shilling, and florin. These featured the Australian Coat of Arms on the reverse and the crowed bust of King Edward VII on the obverse.
The discovery of gold in the colony New South Wales in 1851 prompted a surge of immigration among prospectors seeking wealth in the new colony. This lead to the production of half sovereigns in Sydney as of 1855. Only 3.3 million half sovereigns were produced from 1855 to 1869 resulting in individual years being very scarce and valuable. To add to this, the high bullion content of Sydney mint half sovereigns, which were alloyed with silver, compared with their British counterparts, which were alloyed with copper...
