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The Australian penny coin was a small circulating denomination of the Australian Pound. It has the same dimensions and composition as the British pre-decimal penny, from which it is derived (for a time, the coins circulated in parallel and were interchangeable in Australia - but not in the United Kingdom; the currencies were fixed at par). It was worth one twelfth of an Australian shilling and 1/240 of an Australian pound.
The reverse of the first type of Australian penny coins featured text only. In 1938, this new design by George Kruger Gray superseded it - featuring the iconic leaping kangaroo.
Coins issued in 1942 were withdrawn at decimalisation in 1966 after 24 years in circulation, but have never been formally demonetised and are still legal tender.
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| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin shows the bare (uncrowned) head of King George VI facing left.
Below the neck truncation in small letters, the artist's initials HP (for [Thomas] Humphrey Paget).
Around, the monarch's legend: GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND : IMP.. Translated from Latin: George the Sixth, by the Grace of God, King of all the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.
The letter I (for India) below the King's head is an additional mint mark showing that a coin was struck at the Bombay Mint; however, not all coins of the Bombay issue have it - the mint mark is considered to be the additional dot before the denomination on the reverse. |
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| Reverse | |
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Kangaroo leaping to the left; around above, the legend AUSTRALIA.
Around below, the denomination PENNY; the seven pointed Federation star is in the field to the left of the kangaroo and the date 1942 is in the field below its tail.
The artist's initials KG (for [George] Kruger Gray) are above the tip of the kangaroo's tail.
A dot after the denomination is the mint mark for the Perth Mint on this issue: PENNY. (called Y. in catalogues). The dots before and after the denomination: .PENNY. on the reverse show that a coin was struck by the Bombay Mint. |
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| Edge | Plain | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | During World War II mints in India and the United States of America were employed to strike some of Australia's bronze and silver coinage.
Krause catalogues list mintages as follows:
- Perth Mint: 12,245,000
- Bombay Mint: 9,000,000
The Australian Coin Chart lists the Bombay mintage as 9,000,007 - maybe including 7 proofs?
Remick's Guide and Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins 1649 - 1971 and early Krause editions list a "Perth Mint, no dot" variety not listed elsewhere. |
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