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Australia George V

1912-H  One Penny reverse 1912-H  One Penny obverse

1912-H One Penny

Mintage:3,600,000
Mint:Heaton Monarch:George V Reverse Designer:W. H. J. Blakemore Obverse Designer:Sir E. B. MacKennel Size:30.8mm Weight:9.45g Edge:Plain Composition:97% Copper
2.5% Zinc
0.5% Tin

Values

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. 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 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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