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.
Large BPSmall BP (this issue)
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:
Long TailMedium Tail
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.
Narrow TruncationWide Truncation
The origin mint of this issue can be determined from the
mintmark
beneath the bust on the obverse :
S for SydneyM for Melbourne
No mintmark indicates a British struck sovereign
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