Mintage:50 Mint:Melbourne MintMonarch:George VReverse Designer:W. H. J. BlakemoreObverse Designer:Sir E. B. MacKennelSize:17mmWeight:1.41gEdge:PlainComposition:92.5% Silver 7.5% Copper
Values
Sales History
Current listings
?
1934 marked the third year
proof
coins would be struck at the Melbourne mint for collectors. Fifty
sets were prepared for New Zealand coin dealer H. G. Williams
(Verheyen, T, V, 2009)
, it is unclear whether any more sets were produced as mint
records don't indicate any direct sales to the public. H. G. Williams on sold these sets in a 1936 price list cover for
6/6, interestingly described as mint state as opposed to
proof
as with the New Zealand Waitangi Crown
(Verheyen, T, V, 2009)
. This is perhaps because they were described as
specimen
coins by the Melbourne mint, but they were certainly produced
from specially prepared
dies
and did not endure the handling process, enough to classify them as
proof, but minute imperfections are often found, in particular on the larger denominations indicating that the
care taken in their manufacture was limited. Whether they were ever intended to be
proof
or
specimen
coins is uncertain, but they are certainly different from regular business strikes and command
strong premiums accordingly. The
proof
1934 threepence features a mirror reverse finish with a frosted relief caused by visibly thick die polishing striations
while the obverse features a matte to semi-matte finish, depending on
how early the strike is. Due to the lack of concavity in the
die
, caused by
die
polishing, the center is almost never struck up well, with weakness particularly around the top and bottom of the shield.
The obverse rarely has more than 6 pearls visible with the 2nd and 4th
sets generally unclear and heavy die polishing often causes the mustache to merge with the cheek and wears down the top of
the nose to merge with the fields. The
proof
1934 threepence is much scarcer than most collectors realize with a tiny
mintage
of 50 coins, appearing on the open market roughly 3 or 4 times per decade and is one of only two years, the other being
the 1916-M, that commercial proofs of this type and denomination were manufactured. The Melbourne
mint also struck 1,616,000 business strike
threepence in 1934.
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