How do you know what markings to look for on a 1939 Australian Penny?

Answer 1

There are no mintmarks on a 1939 Australian Penny. There were all minted at the Melbourne Mint.

The designers initials for the obverse (HP - Thomas Humphrey Paget) are below the King's neck and above the "M".

The designers initials for the reverse (KG - George Kruger Gray) are above the Kangaroo's tail.

Answer 2

A 1941 Australian Penny minted in Perth will have a "." after the "Y" in PENNY (Y.) or, a "." between the KG (K.G) above the kangaroos tail on the reverse. KG is the designers initials.

A 1941 Australian Penny minted in Melbourne will have no mint mark at all.

Answer 3

The Australian 1940 Penny was minted in the Melbourne and Perth Mints.

The Pennies minted in Melbourne have no mintmark.

The Pennies minted in Perth have a small dot between the KG (designers initials - George Kruger Gray) just above the kangaroos tail (K.G)

Answer 4

An Australian 1930 Penny is the rarest coin that has ever been released into general circulation in Australian history. Only 3,000 were minted and of those, 1,500 still exist and are trading in todays market. They are still arguing about why the 1930 Penny was released at all. There are only 6 proof coins known to exist, 3 in museums and 3 in private collections.

The 1930 Australian Penny has been a target for forgers and many of the more skillfully done forgeries have fooled expert coin dealers.

The coin is made from bronze, has a plain edge, is 30.8mm in diameter and weighs 9.45 grams. Apart from the date, it is near identical in appearance to all Australian Pennies minted from 1911 to 1936.

To pick a really good quality forgery from the genuine article is quite difficult. If the differences are not obvious, such as spelling mistakes, "copy" or "replica" inscribed on them somewhere, the wrong King or he has Mickey Mouse ears, etc., your best bet is to take it to a reputable coin dealer for a positive identification.

Finally, if you acquired it from a gift or souvenir shop or picked it up for anything less than a few thousand Dollars even in poor condition, it is almost certainly a fake. There are legitimate "copies" but they are clearly inscribed as being copies or replicas.

Answer 5

A 1930 Australian Penny was the same, except for the date, as all Australian pennies from 1911 to 1936.

On the Obverse was King George V with a beard, wearing robes and the crown. Around the edge of the obverse were the words "GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT OMN: REX F.D.IND: IMP:".

Around the edge of the Reverse were the words "COMMONWEALTH OF Australia" with the year at the bottom. There was a ring in from the edge. Inside the ring were the words "ONE PENNY" with a small scroll above and below the words.

The 1930 Penny was minted at the Melbourne Mint, so there are no mint marks.

All Australian pennies had the following dimensions and metal composition -

97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin. They had a plain edge, weighed 9.45 grams and were 30.8 mm in diameter.

There were 3,000 minted.

There are many legitimate copies/replicas/facsimiles of the 1930 Penny, but there should be some indication on the coin that it is a replica.

Some forgeries are very skillfully done, and in view of the fact that some professional coin dealers have been duped, I would not trust myself to make the distinction.

If you suspect that you have a 1930 Penny, take it to several reputable coin dealers for their considered opinions on the authenticity of the coin.