1946 Penny Fine

1946 Penny Fine

Obverse: Bust of George VI to left, legend around

Reverse: Denomination above date, legend around

Alloy: Copper | Diameter: 30.80mm | Weight: 9.45g

Mintage: 363,000

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This is a solid example of Australia's third rarest penny.

The 1946 penny is Australia's 3rd rarest penny, one of the last gaps to be plugged in most penny albums, and a real prize in top condition.

The mintage was among the lowest in the entire penny series because 145 million pennies had been struck in the seven years leading up to 1946, and few extra coins were required once Australian and US armed forces began to demobilize in September 1945.

Once the Commonwealth Bank in Melbourne took delivery of the 1946 pennies, the staff there indicated that the coins would all be sent to Sydney for some unstated purpose.

Former Melbourne Mint staff subsequently found out that a large number of 1946 pennies were sent to the Australian contingent serving in Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces.

The rarity of the 1946 penny was increased even further than its tiny mintage would indicate because very few of the coins sent to Japan would have been brought back to Australia.

Click here to read our full article on the background to this historic coin.

SKU

8178