The enigmatic 1856/5
overdate
is one of the more difficult
overdates
of the Sydney mint series. The
overdate
isn't as clearly visible as other issues such as the 1861/0 overdate, features hints of the loop of the 5 on the lower-right
hand corner of the 6 but otherwise is chiefly identified by the presence of a dot after the date, a
variety
otherwise unique to the 1855.
Dot after the date on an 1856/5 Overdate Half Sovereign
Dot after the date on an 1855 Half Sovereign
The dot is not as clear on the
overdate
as on the 1855 no doubt due to the additional re-working needed to change the date and may be worn away on lower grade
examples making attribution difficult in such cases. It is also likely that given the amount of die re-working undertaken
by the Sydney mint, that the dot has completely worn away on some later strikes. As the dot serves as the main diagnostic
criteria, such examples should be viewed with caution.
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