The commemorative appeal of the 1937 crown was lost when in 1938 the Melbourne
mint continued the issue of the crown. A total of 101,600 crowns were minted that year and while many were preserved
in top grades, a majority ended up lightly circulated with the average grade being similar to that of the 1937 ranging from
XF to AU. The 1938 crown was plagued to an even greater degree by soft strikes despite the lower
mintage
which would indicate less overuse of
dies
. This, combined with the rough distribution process via ship and rail
(Coin Web, 2007)
spawning their notoriety for
bagmarks
resulted in the average mint state grade of MS62 to MS63 with examples in MS64 becoming very
scarce though the lack of higher grade examples is also due to the already low
mintage. The 1938 crown is a highly desirable
coin in all grades due to its rarity, especially in mint state though the lack of local collectors
specific to crowns has rendered it somewhat undervalued though the series is very popular with collectors of world crowns,
most of whom however, tend to satisfy their need with a 1937 crown. The 1938 crown was also issued as proof coin.
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