Lot 119
Ex 'Nugget Coombs, Adler & Benchmark' Collections. The only coin graded of this type. Extremely Rare if not Unique
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Literature:
- 355 Medium:
- Collectibles Circa:
- Coins, Monies & Stamps Notes:
- In 1938 the Melbourne Mint had begun striking coin denominations of George VI featuring the new designs that would have been adopted for his brother Edward VIII if he hadn?t abdicated and run off with an American divorcee. The Florin at last featured the 'Australian Coat of Arms' of 1912 which replaced the 'Armorial Ensigns of the Commonwealth of Australia' which appeared on the reverses of all our sterling silver coins since 1910. The new Shilling now featured on the reverse a 'Ram's head' and the Threepence 'sheaths of wheat' representing Australia's major industries, while the 'Commonwealth of Australia' reverse which was used on the copper coins was replaced on the Penny with a 'Kangaroo' showcasing our native fauna. Initially it would appear that there were no design changes contemplated for either the Sixpence or the Halfpenny, and it was probably the intention to keep one of each of the reverse design types to pay homage to our earlier coinage. In fact, the Sixpence continued with the 1910 'Armorial' design until the last coins of this denomination were struck in 1963, but there was a change of plan with the Halfpenny sometime in 1939. The halfpennies of that year started out with the long-standing 'Commonwealth of Australia' reverse but then switched to a new design featuring a scaled down version of the new 'Kangaroo' reverse used on the pennies. However, on the Halfpenny the 'Kangaroo' was reversed to face right and the designer's initials 'K.G' were re-positioned to below the tail of the Kangaroo from its position above on the pennies. The master hub for the new reverse design was supplied to the Melbourne Mint by the Royal Mint in London. But Melbourne, in moving to full-scale production, made small alterations to the master die that would spawn the working dies used to knock out 782,400 coins for circulation. Overall the sharpness of the design was softened and critically the 'foot' of the 'Y' in 'Halfpenny' was changed from a 'double-foot' to a 'single-foot'. The Melbourne Mint had a history of altering dies when it struck a new master and it's likely that the 'single-foot' on the 'Y' was a deliberate marker to claim its additional work. What is certain is that it was proud enough of the finished product to strike 100 'proof' coins for both official collections and the public to highlight its expertise featuring the 'single-foot' design. But what happened to the original 'double-foot' London Mint design you might ask? To date only one 'uncirculated' coin graded PCGS MS65 BN and one 'proof' coin have been positively identified. The uncirculated coin has a remarkable provenance being from the collection of the esteemed Australian H.C. (Nugget) Coombs who was the longest serving Governor of the Commonwealth - Reserve Bank.
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| A$0 | A$99 | A$5 |
| A$100 | A$999 | A$10 |
| A$1,000 | A$4,999 | A$50 |
| A$5,000 | A$9,999 | A$100 |
| A$10,000 + | A$250 |