The 1926 sixpences

Characteristics
Designation | X26M.2B | X26S.2B
Mint | Melbourne | Sydney
Mint mark | None | None
Mintage | 3,404,000 | 304,000

The sixpences cannot be distinguished so the proper designation is X26MS.2B signifying sixpence, 1926, Melbourne and Sydney mints, obverse 2, reverse B and the total mintage is about 3.7 million.

The 1926 sixpence occurs in two documented varieties distinguished by the shape of the 2 in the date. One variety has a 2 with a thick base and no serif, the other has a slightly thinner base with a pronounced serif. Both Dean1 and Skinner2 list the serif 2 as the primary variety and the sans-serif as the secondary variety whereas Clarke4 has them the other way around. I examined 54 specimens and found 46 sans-serif and 8 serif coins, suggesting that Clarke's assignment is correct.

It is tempting to speculate that the serif coins were the Sydney issue but there is nothing in the mint records to support such a conjecture. One possibility is that the serif broke off on the working punch.

Reverse of 1926 sixpence
| X26MS.2B.1
| X26MS.2B.2

Close-up views of the date
| X26MS.2B.1 Sans-serif 2 in date
| X26.MS.2B.2 Pronounced serif on the baseline of the 2.

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Most recent revision: 4th May 2000
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