Lot 244
Fully detailed and in the top 10 Known
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Notes:
- The ceremonial striking of the 'first official' pennies by the Sydney Mint in October, 1920 was almost certainly the 1920 'Plain' variety, as it seems inconceivable that coins presented to dignitaries would be less than perfect examples, devoid of all unauthorised experimental markings. The survival of so few 1920 'Plain' pennies in mint state, points to the entire mintage being Sydney-struck, and probably the product of one die. This die would not have been retired after the ceremony as it was common practice for production to continue until a die was exhausted, and perhaps another 50,000 coins were struck and released into circulation. There is a common perception that the 1920 'Plain' Penny is easily found in low grade, but these poor examples are markedly different from the coins surviving in better grade. They have a concavity in the reverse strike that can best be described as a wave, ie in the central design, the fields appear sunken against 'ONE PENNY' and the scrolls. The two explanations are: the unlikely proposition that the Melbourne Mint suddenly abandoned marking its production with a dot below the bottom scroll and then went on to strike large numbers of 'plain' pennies; or, more probably, that the 1920 'Plain' Penny in most average circulated collections is a Melbourne-struck 1920 //. (Indian obverse) Penny struck on a filled die with little or no evidence of a mint mark. It should also be noted that the 1920 'Plain' Penny has straight based letters in the reverse legend, whereas most of the 1920 //. (Indian Obverse) pennies exhibit slight curvature. If there is any evidence of curvature at the base of letters in the reverse legend then the coin must be a 1920 //. (Indian obverse) Penny, as this was the only 1920 penny variety exhibiting this trait. In 1996 Noble Numismatics sold a 1920 'Plain' Penny, reputedly ex the collection of A.M. Le Soueff, a past Deputy Master of the Melbourne Mint. This coin was described as a " Melbourne Mint Penny, 1920, selected specimen striking from dies (derived from the Indian master dies) that were subsequently marked with a dot above the lower scroll." It has been argued that the presence of this coin in Le Soueff's collection is evidence that the 1920 'Plain' Penny is Melbourne-struck. However, it seems logical that all the 'experimental' penny dies sent to Sydney would have been tested by the Melbourne Mint before their dispatch, and that he would have had access to a coin from these trials. Alternatively, Le Soueff may have picked up the coin in Sydney when he was seconded to the Sydney Mint to supervise its closure in 1926.
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| A$0 | A$99 | A$10 |
| A$100 | A$999 | A$20 |
| A$1,000 | A$4,999 | A$50 |
| A$5,000 | A$9,999 | A$100 |
| A$10,000 + | A$250 |