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1920 Australian Penny obverse / reverse combinations
1920 Australian Penny
Minted in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.
Two obverse / reverse die combinations were used during 1920 when making Australian pennies: The 'Indian obverse', and the 'London obverse'. In each case the same reverse die was used, however various mint marks were used, resulting in eight primary identified varieties.
There is still conjecture as to whether some of the varieties exist as deliberately minted variations, or occurred as a result of die fill, which would technically be an 'error', rather than a 'variety'.
Specifically the dot below the bottom scroll, when minted, was susceptible to either weak strike or die fill, and is very difficult to see on a lot of 1920 pennies, if able to be seen at all.
This does lead to some confusion, however most rarer varieties have other 'key indicators' to assist in identification.
Either way, these variations or errors have been accepted in to popular opinion, official literature, and valuation guides as 'varieties'.
The London obverse, (heads), variation has 177 outer rim denticals, while the Indian obverse variation has 178 outer rim denticals.
Both obverses feature the image of Australia's, (England's), Monarch at the time, King George V facing to the left, with the legend reading the Latin "GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT: OMN: REX F.D. IND: IMP:"
The easiest way to tell which obverse you have is to look at alignment of the final stroke of the 'N' in 'OMN', and the ':' after IMP, relative to the outer rim beads.
Indian obverse: Last stroke of 'N' in 'OMN' lines up with outer rim dentical, ':' after 'IMP' lines up in-between outer rim denticals.
London obverse: Last stroke of 'N' in 'OMN' lines up in-between outer rim denticals, ':' after 'IMP' lines up with outer rim dentical.
The reverse, (tails), has 177 outer rim denticals, with the words "ONE PENNY" in the center, scrolls above and below wording, all surrounded by a ring of inner dentials.
Eight primary variations of the 1920 Australian penny have been identified, relating to mintmarks and obverse type used. The mintmarks are in the form of dots, and are situated either side of the top and bottom scrolls.
Outer rim legend reads "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA", with the date at the bottom, known as the 'COA' reverse.
Edge | Plain |
Weight | 9.45 grams |
Diameter | 30.8 mm |
Composition | 97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin |
Mintage | approx. 9,041,000 (includes all 1920 varieties) |
Scarcity | depends on variety |
The estimated values above are based on a combination of published guides, recent sales, projected values, and a variety of other sources.
They represent retail values and are provided as a guide only.
No allowance has been made for detractors, which will impact negatively on value.
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1920 Australian penny
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