1922 Specimen Penny Indian Obverse PCGS SP64BN
| We Last Sold This Item For: | $19,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Last Sold On: | 13/10/2023 |
| # Sold In Past 12 Months: | 1 |
1922 Specimen Penny Indian Obverse PCGS SP64BN
Obverse: Coronate bust of George V to right, legend around. Upstroke of N in OMN aligns with rim denticle
Reverse: Denomination above date, legend around
Alloy: Copper | Diameter: 30.80mm | Weight: 9.45g
Mintage: Unique
PCGS Certificate Number: 46903335
This is the first copper coin that can be definitively attributed to the Perth Mint.
As the only archival-standard copper coin struck by the Perth Mint in the 1920's, the specimen 1922 penny with the Indian obverse stands alone as an exclusive, tangible record of the strategy that the Commonwealth Treasury followed to ensure that Australian commerce was able to grow unimpeded following the return of the ANZACs to our home shores.
The origin of this penny is in the economic demand that surged following the end of WWI, and in the ensuirng demand for coinage.
The Sydney and Melbourne mints were both operating at capacity, so the Perth Mint was called into action to strike copper coins for the first time. The technical characteristics of the very first copper coins struck by the Perth Mint are not known - the exact characteristics of the dies used for an experimental production run that took place in December 1921 were not recorded.
Perth Mint staff were able to initiate a second short production run toward the end of January in 1922, prior to the main production runs that were performed from March 1922 through to February 1923. All of the coins struck in the main production runs feature the "Indian" obverse of King George V, which allows them to be differentiated from the pennies struck by the Melbourne Mint in the same year.
The discovery of the previously unknown specimen strike of the 1922 penny with the Indian obverse in a Melbourne auction in July of 2007 posed a series of interesting questions: Where was it struck? Who struck it? For what purpose was it struck?
There is little doubt that the start of the production run of pence at the Perth Mint in 1922 would have been met with some ceremony, if not by dignitaries outside the Mint, then at the very least by senior staff within it.
The accepted practice of confirming the expectation that all possible preparations had resulted in a finished product that would do the Mint proud was to strike one or more specimen examples prior to the start of the main production run. WJ Mullet states that the existence of a 1920-dated specimen penny “in the Melbourne Mint collection may have been part of an immediate check on the quality of the die impression....”
The Provenance of the 1922 Specimen Penny:
- Produced at the Perth Mint between 14th and 17th February 1922;
- Stored as a record of production by a public collection or by a VIP as a presentation piece;
- Sold to a coin dealer in Melbourne some time in the late 1970's / early 1980's;
- Consigned for sale by auction to Noble Numismatics in 2007;
- Acquired by Sterling & Currency at Noble Numismatics Sale 85a, July 24th 2007;
- Acquired in 2008 by the Rare Coin Company and sold to a prominent Western Australian collector;
- Acquired by Sterling & Currency ex the deceased estate of the previous owner.
Further Facts of Interest:
- Prior to the discovery of the 1922 specimen penny, the earliest dated archival-quality copper coin from the Perth Mint available to collectors was a 1942 halfpenny;
- Perth Mint archival-quality coins from any period are extremely rare;
- The Perth Mint did not produce “proof” coins (in the technical definition) until 1955;
- Archival-quality pennies from the King George V period are extremely rare - just 10 different proof or specimen coins dated earlier than 1922 have been sighted at auction since 1975;
- Just 4 proof record coins dated earlier than 1942 struck by the Perth Mint have been sighted on the collector market - one example each of the 1899 sovereign; 1899 half sovereign; 1901 sovereign and 1901 half sovereign.
I firmly believe this is an incredible coin that can not only sit proudly in any serious collection of Western Australian coins, but in any collection of early 20th century coinage. It is incredibly rare and captures a unique chapter in Australian numismatic history.
Click here to read our detailed research into the history of this iconic coin.
Click the PCGS icon below to verify the certificate details for this coin directly on the PCGS website.
PCGS Certificate Number: 46903335
SKU: 211098
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