The Sydney mint reverted to the Imperial St George and Shield designs in 1871 with the Shield
design intended for export to other colonies. The first St George design depicts Pistrucci's St George slaying the dragon
with his designer's initials B.P. in large characters on the right below the exergue. The
design would only last for half a year with the Sydney mint switching to a small B.P. design
(this issue) later in the year making the large BP scarce. This issue differs from the Type III St George
reverse design by having a longer tail on St George's horse as in the illustration below: This type differs from
the Type V St George reverse design by having a narrow truncation at the base of the bust
of her Majesty Queen Victoria. The origin mint of this issue can be determined from the mintmark beneath the bust on the obverse :
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