G'day RaritiesCoinLover & Welcome to CCF !
if you look up Google for "Double Bar", you'll find plenty of photos, including some on
ebay.
The first two that I looked at on
ebay were NOT, in fact, Double Bar.
I look at yours, and I can't see the bars.
A point for other collectors to comment on -
the Double Bar phenomenon, as I recall my reading on the subject, was first noticed in the late 1970s.
I haven't heard of the Double Bar on a 1966, but I might have to stand corrected on that.
It's thought that the Double Bar is not a die-error, but the result of excessive pressure during the strike.
When I was at the Mint a year or so ago, they had a nice display on the effect of different pressures.
Whilst the object is to produce well-struck coins, another object is to control energy costs.
The 1966 50-cent ceased production within months of coming into circulation - the reason being high silver prices.
As a result, they were hoarded by the public, and high-grade examples are commonly seen on the market - more so than most other Australian coins.
I'm not much into grading - most of the tiny dings on the obverse are "bag marks", which affect grade, but are treated leniently. That said, the ding between "Australia" & "1966" seems to me, to be too big to call a "bag mark"; also the one at 8 o'clock.
Posted 06/03/2014 11:25 am
