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Australia 1940 Shilling

1999 Silver Proof One Dollar

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This one dollar silver proof piece is part of 'Memories' set which is itself within the larger Masterpieces in Silver series. This piece has a denomination of one dollar and the reverse design commemorates the 1940 Shilling design. The iconic design was done by George Kruger Gray and includes a rams head with the legend "AUSTRALIA SHILLING 1940". The obverse features the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II with the legend "ELZIABETH II AUSTRALIA 1999 ONE DOLLAR".

The Shilling Ram design was based on the Grant Champion Ram at the 1932 Sydney Sheep show. The ram was described in the Sydney Mail as "...one of the most magnificent Merinos ever seen in Sydney." Artist George Kruger Gray, motivated by the importance of wool to Australian economic history and the magnificence of this ram, designed the reverse of the Australian shilling in its image. The post 1938 ram's head shilling is today one of Australia's most iconic pieces.