Penny obverse master die types

Contents

> General notes on obverse master dies
> George V obverse master die types
> Distinguishing the George V obverses
> George VI obverse master die types
> Distinguishing the George VI obverses
> Elizabeth II obverse master die types

Penny obverse master die varieties

The following tables illustrate the master dies use to strike Australian pennies. Following the pattern of Paul Holland's article, I assign a number to each obverse die and a letter to each reverse but whereas Paul starts the number/letter assignment anew with each major change in design (typically coinciding with a change in the British monarchy), I assign a unique number or letter to each die. One reason I do this is just for consistency. There are some coins, notably the halfpennies and sixpences, where design changes do not coincide with the ascension of a British ruler and I simply prefer a scheme which works for all denominations. A second and somwehat related reason is that I am working on a pseudo-taxonomic nomenclature for Australian Commonwealth coins and the scheme works better if there is no duplication of die identifiers.

George V obverse master die types
| Obverse 1: English (London) obverse 177 rim denticles.
| Obverse 2: Indian (Calcutta) obverse 178 rim denticles

The next table shows enlargements of some of the features which distinguish coins struck with the English and Indian dies. There are more distinguishing features than those shown below but these are the easiest to spot, especially on worn coins and on images posted on the Internet.

Distinguishing the George V obverses
English (London) die | Indian (Calcutta) die
Final leg of N and the following colon point between two rim beads. Wide gap between O and top of crown. |  |  | Final leg of N and the colon following point directly at rim beads. O closer to top of crown.
R has short leg with pronounced knee. |  |  | Longer. more relaxed leg on R.
Both colons point directly at rim beads |  |  | Both colons point between rim beads.

George VI obverse master die types
| Obverse 3 Used on all pennies struck in Australia 1938-1948. 156 rim denticles.
| Obverse 4 Used on pennies struck in Bombay, 1942 and 1943. 145 rim denticles. Mint mark "I" is usually present below the bust.
| Obverse 5 IND:IMP. deleted from legend and F:D expanded to FIDEI DEF. 155 rim denticles. This obverse was used for all pennies minted 1949-1952.

Distinguishing the George VI obverse master dies
Details of obverses 3 and 4 are shown in this table. The wording of the legend is sufficient to distinguish obverse 5 from the other two.
| Obverse 3 Short denticles. IMP has small serifs and letters are widely spaced. Vertical stroke of P is aligned with a rim denticle.
| Obverse 4 Tall denticles. Serifs are more pronounced and the letters almost touch. Vertical stroke of P is aligned over the gap between rim denticles. The I mint mark only appears on obverse 4 but its absence is not 100% reliable because a few 1942 pennies were struck at the Bombay mint without it.

Elizabeth II obverse master die types
| Obverse 6 Used for coins struck in 1953 at the Melbourne mint. Rim embellishment comprises 116 round beads. F:D omitted from legend. I of GRATIA is aligned over the gap between two rim beads.
| Obverse 7 Used for coins struck at the Perth mint in 1953. Similar to obverse 6 except that there are 117 rim beads. I of GRATIA is aligned directly over a rim bead.
| Obverse 8 Used at Melbourne for coins struck from 1955 to 1964 inclusive and at the Perth mint for most 1955 and a few 1956 pennies. Similar to obverse 6 but with F:D: restored to the legend. 120 rim beads. I in GRATIA and in ELIZABETH each aligned with a rim bead.
| Obverse 9 Used at the Perth mint for coins struck from 1955 to 1964. (The 1955 Perth penny with the type 9 obverse is rare.) Similar to obverse 8 except that there are 116 rim beads. I in GRATIA and in ELIZABETH each aligned with the gap between two rim beads.

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Most recent revision: 23rd August 2000
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