The Australian Sixpence was a coin used in the Commonwealth of Australia prior to decimalization. It was minted from 1910 until 1963, excluding 1913, 1915, 1929 - 1933 inclusive, 1937, 1947 and 1949. After decimalization on 14 February 1966, it continued to circulate at the value of 5¢, along with new 5¢ coins of the same size and weight.
During World War II, between 1942 - 1944, sixpence production was supplemented by coinage produced by two branches of the United States Mint. Coins struck at the San Francisco mint (1942-1944) carry a small S below the coat of arms, while those from the Denver mint (1942-1943) have a small D in the same place.
From 1910 to 1945 Australian sixpences were of sterling silver (0.925 fine); from 1946 to 1963 they were reduced to 0.500 fine.
Types
| Image | Years | Technical parameters | Description / Legend / Designer | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | From | To | Diameter | Thickness | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse |
 |
 |
1910 | 1910 | 19 mm | 2.82 g | 925‰ silver | Reeded | Edward VII EDWARDVS VII D:G: BRITT. OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP: by George William de Saulles |
1908 coat of arms of Australia (with ADVANCE AUSTRALIA on ribbon) SIXPENCE by W.H.J. Blakemore |
|
 |
 |
1911 | 1936 | George V GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT: OMN: REX F.D.IND:IMP: by Bertram Mackennal |
||||||
 |
 |
1938 | 1945 | George VI GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX: F:D:IND:IMP. by Thomas Hugh Paget |
||||||
 |
 |
1946 | 1948 | 500‰ silver | ||||||
 |
 |
1950 | 1952 | George VI GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX FIDEI DEF. by Thomas Hugh Paget |
||||||
 |
 |
1953 | 1954 | Elizabeth II + ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA by Mary Gillick |
||||||
 |
 |
1955 | 1963 | Elizabeth II + ELIZABETH.II.DEI.GRATIA.REGINA.F:D: by Mary Gillick |
||||||
| These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. | ||||||||||
Mintmarks
- D : Denver
- M : Melbourne
- PL : London
- S : San Francisco
References
- Bruce, Colin R.; Thomas Michael (2005). 2006 Standard Catalog of World Coins (1901-present). KP Books. p. 68. ISBN 0-87349-987-5.
- Sixpence article on Cruzis Coins
| Preceded by Sixpence (British) |
Sixpence 1910-1966 |
Succeeded by Five cent coin (Australian) |
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
This Australia-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This coin-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
