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 Replies: 6 / Views: 2,138 |
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
I've spent the last few days learning about Australian predecimal coins as I just came into a massive hoard of old pennies. I have two pressing questions on my mind and I thought someone here might be in a position to answer them. (My apologies if they are stupid questions!)
(1) I see that Australian KGV pennies are rated by the number of pearls on the king's crown, with the highest possible being 8. Does this mean that all 8 pearls were clearly visible on each and every penny when it first emerged from the mint? I have what appears to be an uncirculated 1933 penny, but you can only see 6 pearls. Perhaps some dies were not as distinct as others.
(2) How prevalent was the practice of making pennies look like gold? I have a 1933 penny which is a lovely gold colour on the obverse but the usual colour on the reverse. I assume someone did this deliberately, even though it was against the law to make copper coins look like either silver or gold. (I suppose it could have been worn, or was intended to have been worn, as jewellery.) Is it common to find a penny with a gold face?
Thanks for looking! Edited by jimjamtwo
11/09/2013 12:04 am
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Valued Member
Australia
363 Posts |
Pics/scans of the obverse & reverse of your coins would make it easier to answer your questions. Cheers.
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Valued Member
 Australia
117 Posts |
Could you answer my questions speaking generally? My questions were actually intended generally, not with specific reference to the coin in question. (At the moment, the said coin is in an olive oil bath, as there's dirt adhering to the legend on the obverse. I'd like to post a scan once I've managed to remove it.)
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2180 Posts |
There's more to it than just the number of pearls (but it is often used to get a rough idea of grade). The amount of wear on the high points (like the orb on the crown, the band of the crown, the ear, the tip of the moustache etc) is overall how such coins are compared. Some coins aren't struck as fully as others though so the high points can be indistinct on uncirculated coins.
Gilding happens from time to time though I've never come across a gilded coin myself.
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
Thanks for the comment, Mr T. Not too long ago, a 1926 penny was sold on ebay that was fully gilded. Mine is just 'old gold' on one side, which, I suppose, proves that it was done deliberately - something accidental that brought about this result would surely have affected both sides of the coin. |
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Moderator
 Australia
16809 Posts |
Regarding the number of pearls: it has been my (admittedly not entirely fully attentive) experience that for George V coins, "wear" and "weakness of strike" are regarded as equivalent, as far as market value is concerned. In other words, a coin that is technically Uncirculated but due to weak strike more resembles an EF coin, is only worth EF market value. So in that sense, exactly what caused the absence of the pearls is irrelevant; the most important fact being that they are in fact absent.
Regarding gilding: I owned a half-gilded penny similar to that which you describe (though in my case, it was a George VI penny with the reverse kangaroo side gilded). It came out of a souvenir keyring; only the half not embedded in leather was gilded. This gilding was done relatively recently, long after decimalization in any event, as the keyring had been purchased from a souvenir shop sometime in the 1990s.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
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Replies: 6 / Views: 2,138 |
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Posted 11/08/2013 11:59 pm
