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Australia George V

1926 Sixpence

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The 1926 Sixpence was struck at both the Melbourne and Sydney Mint and was the final year struck at Sydney before the institutions closure at the end of the year. A total of 3,609,000 pieces were produced which was a standard mintage size for this stage in the series. The type is reasonably easily obtained relative to the series. Mint-state examples generally cluster around MS64 with very limited examples grading higher.

Two major varieties have been identified which can be differentiated by close examination of the '2' in the date. The '2' on the first variety has a marginally thicker base and lacks any serif (sans serif) whereas the second variety has is slightly thinner on its base and features a serif. Although it may seem reasonable to assume that these varieties represent the two mints of manufacture there is little evidence to support this yet.

Serif variety of the 1926 Sixpence.

Sans serif variety of the 1926 Sixpence.

The closure of the Sydney Branch of the Royal Mint was a significant event in Australian numismatic history. The Mint had been an important part of the Australian economy for its 71 years of operation. (Sydney Living Museums, 2017) It was closed as it had been running at a loss for many years and upgrades to the Melbourne Mint had made it a far more advanced and capable. The closure was generally framed within discussions of the inevitable closure of all Royal Mint branches in Australia and their replacement with a Canberra based national mint. (Daily Mercury, 1926) Despite this early discussion the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra was not opened for nearly forty years and the Melbourne Mint remained open and operational for all of this time. (Royal Australian Mint, 2017)