Australian Coin Collectors have long had a fascination with a plain bronze penny. It was the one and only coin to feature on the cover of the Australian Coin Review Magazine between 1964 and 1981.
The coin’s obverse shows one of the two coin designers, Bertram Mackennal’s crowned effigy of King George V. The reverse is a simple lettered design by William Blackmore derived from a nineteenth century token. As with all rarities, it is the date that has made this coin an object of great lust: 1930.
The 1930 Penny was struck at the Melbourne Mint and has been the centre of all coin discussions since its discovery in the 1940s.
For those who have recently taken up collecting Australian Coins, it is perhaps worth understanding a little about this rare coin.
The 1930 Penny was unknown in circulation until at least 1940. The date of discovery may have been 2 – 3 years later. Official reports from the Melbourne branch of the Royal Mint show no bronze pennies were struck for circulation in 1930, certainly not bearing the date. It was the height of the Great Depression. Very few additional coppers were needed to supplement those already in circulation given the average weekly wage was about 3 Pounds ($6.00).
But during the World War II, word got out that pennies dated 1930 were in circulation. Australian collectors feverishly searched all available small change. Newspaper Ads were placed offering ten shillings for any example received. These ads ceased when held to be in breach of wartime regulations.
A considerable amount of Australian effort yielded about 50 coins but there was a suspicion that others were still out there. At the time, all the Melbourne Mint would acknowledge is that some 1930 pennies had been struck for museums.
Most expert coin collectors over the years have bandied about 1,500 dated 1930 Penny’s eventually escaped from the Melbourne Mint.
In 1930 the Melbourne Mint had in its possession matrices for the obverse of the Australian Penny from both the Royal Mint in London and the Calcutta (India) branch of the Royal Mint. The two differ. Among other things, the relative positions of the letters in the ‘OMN: REX F.D. IND: IMP:’ in the legend vary. For example, on the Indian die the ‘O’ of ‘OMN’ is nearer the cross on the crown and the final upright in ‘N’ is exactly under one of the rim beads. On the London this upright points between two beads.
The number of beads about the rim is also different: 178 on the Indian die and 177 on the London.
From 1920 to 1931 Australian mints used the two dies somewhat indiscriminately. Most known 1930 Pennies had been struck using a punch made from the Indian die. Until 1966 it was assumed all had been so struck (from the Indian die) that year one with a London obverse surfaced and was authenticated by the Royal Mint as was a second found in 1976.
For many years no one was able to offer any explanation as to why two different working dies were prepared to produce just a few specimens.
A review of the Melbourne Mint records in 1987 made clear the circumstances under which the 1930 Penny was struck. It occurred at a time the Melbourne Mint was considering producing its own working dies to obviate delays in delivery from the parent Royal Mint. The lull in coinage production during the Depression provided an ideal window in which to undertake the necessary experiments. The 1930 pennies were one result of these experiments. The date of striking was believed in August 1930, and another in August 1931.
The use of two different working obverse dies helps confound the question of just how many coins made it into circulation. Not only were the circumstances of the striking of the 1930 coin other than normal, but there just isn’t enough London coins out there to support the oft-made suggestion that the number released consisted of one or more bags of 1,200 pennies - 5 pounds worth. The London die variety is a very rare coin in any grade.
Most of 1930 Pennies found over the years have had a considerable amount of circulation, and been in lower grade between Very Good and good Fine making any example of this Australian Rarity a collectable example.
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