? The 1856 Alternate Reverse Half Sovereign, first identified in a Spink Auction in 1981 but incorrectly attributed as having the 1853 pattern reverse is one of the more interesting varieties to come out of the early days of the Sydney mint. Its origin and purpose is a mystery but given the Sydney mint's constant shortage of dies as evidenced by the amount of tooling done to extend their working life in many of the early years, it is likely ...
? The specimen 1922 half pennies were among the last specimen half pennies struck by the Sydney mint, 2nd only to the 1926 issues. They feature an even surface, similar to the 1919 and 1920 specimen half penny, unlike the cartwheel reflective surface of the business strike . This should not be confused with a dulled business strike which would show increased unevenness at the microscopic level and will almost certainly be paired with other imperfections from circulation. ...
? The 1922 Florin was produced at the Melbourne Mint with a total mintage of 2,057,858. Despite being a relatively substantial mintage the type is about as scarce and in some cases scarcer than its lower mintage counterparts. Population reports by PCGS show only around two dozen mint-state examples graded. The majority of these examples are MS62 and MS64 with the maximum grade being MS65. Collectors seeking a mint-state florin from this type may find the 1922 a poor choice ...
? The George V sovereign series was struck from 1911 to 1931 with the design changing from 1928 to 1929 with the two types being known as the Large Head and Small Head design respectively. Large Head Design Small Head Design The issue was struck in Australia at the Sydney, Melbourne and Perth mints up to 1926 and only the Melbourne and Perth mints thereafter. The mint of manufacture can be determined by the letter S, M or P on the exergue ...
? The alternate reverse 1861 half sovereign is one of the newly discovered rarities of the Sydney mint half sovereign series. It features the same alternate reverse as the 1856 sometimes occurs in most likely explained by the die being reused. It is identifiable by a the absence of a berry above L of HALF among other slight differences in the wreath. Based on the surviving examples, it is likely that only one die existed which was used for both 1856, 1861 and quite possibly some ...
