Mintage:3,600,000 Mint:HeatonMonarch:George VReverse Designer:W. H. J. BlakemoreObverse Designer:Sir E. B. MacKennelSize:30.8mmWeight:9.45gEdge:PlainComposition:97% Copper 2.5% Zinc 0.5% Tin
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Sales History
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The 1912-H Penny was struck at the Heaton & Sons Mint with a total
mintage
of 3,600,000. This was a medium to high mintage and as a result the year is generally more affordable than other early
years in the series. Despite this it is still quite difficult to acquire a mint-state example, especially for grades higher
than MS63. The Heaton & Sons features a small 'H' mint-mark located under the lower scroll on the
reverse.
Heaton & Sons 'H' mint-mark on the reverse of a 1912-H Penny.
After the introduction of Australia's first official coinage in 1911 a shortage quickly emerged. The extraordinary demand
for coins can be attributed to larger trends of economic growth as well as smaller events such as the rise of slot machines
and penny gas meters. Despite the best efforts of the Royal Mint in London they could not meet
demand so they were forced to enlist the assistance of the private mint
of Heaton & Sons based in Birmingham.
Heaton & Sons mint in Birmingham
The pennies struck at Heaton & Sons in 1912 attracted some odd attention in the Australian Media. One newspaper article
claimed that a number of the coins were slightly oversized. It was claimed that these larger sizes were causing issues as
they were "...found to stick in the penny-in-the-slot machines and gas meters."
(Nepean Times, 1913)
This apparent issue was reported in a number of newspapers however the truth of the claim is difficult to verify.
(The Maitland Daily Mercury, 1913)
It is possible that the issue did exist and that light circulation quickly removed the minor variation in sizes.
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