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1957 Australia One Penny – Queen Elizabeth II

$4.95 AUD

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SKU: 1P261957-1S Category:
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Only a few light score marks other wise a nice example from this year.

A good coin for beginning collectors or as a filler.

The pictures say it all.

SKU

Year

Denomination

Approx. Grade

Design

1953 -1964 All One Penny coins in this period were as follows.

Diameter 30.8 mm

Weight 9.45 grams

Edge – Plain

Bronze composition: 97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin.

Obverse: Has an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Mary Gillick

Reverse: The bounding kangaroo designed by George Kuger Gray

There were in total 5 varites of One Penny coins minted between 1911 and 1966 when decimalisation occured.

A dot above the top scroll indicates the Melbourne or Sydney Mints.
A dot above the lower scroll indicates the Sydney Mint.
A dot below the lower scroll indicates the Melbourne Mint.
All Pennies with no Mint Mark were minted at Melbourne, Perth and Sydney Mints using identical dies.
An “H” below the bottom scroll indicates the Heaton Mint in Birmingham, England (1912 and 1915 pennies only).
An “I” below the bottom scroll indicates the Calcutta Mint in India (1917 and 1918 pennies only).
From 1937 to 1964, the Penny had a left facing hopping kangaroo with the word “AUSTRALIA” around the circumference at the top and the word “PENNY” around the circumference at the bottom.
The year is below the kangaroo’s tail and the Commonwealth Star is below the kangaroo’s head.
A dot after the “Y.” in PENNY or the “A.” in AUSTRALIA or situated between the designers initials “K.G” (Kuger Gray and not King George as many believe)  indicates the Perth Mint.
A “PL” below the year indicates the London Mint (1951 pennies only).
An “I” below King George VI’s neck indicates the Bombay Mint in India (1942 and 1943 pennies only).
All other Pennies were minted in Melbourne and have no Mint Mark at all.
These mintmarks do not apply to all other Australian pre-decimal coins with the exception of a few and they certainly do not apply to any of the Australian decimal coins from 1966 onwards. Each denomination has variations.

History

Mary Gillick (1881 Nottingham – 27 January 1965 London, England) was a sculptor best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1967.

Born Mary Tutin in Nottingham, she was educated at the Nottingham School of Art and at the Royal College of Art from 1902 to 1904. After making her first exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1911, she designed several medals to be used as awards, and several other, larger relief sculptures in stone and bronze.

In 1952, Gillick’s effigy design was selected from a field of seventeen to be used on general-circulation coinage for the new Queen Elizabeth, first issued in 1953.

Gillick’s design was notable for portraying the Queen uncrowned, and was the last to be used on the pre-decimal coinage. It is still used for Maundy money and various commemorative issues.

Gillick’s die master had insufficient relief, and the striking was too weak. Facial features and the dress folds in the shoulder disappeared. The problem was solved by re-cutting the dies. This remastering was performed by Cecil Thomas, an experienced medallist who had already crafted overseas currencies featuring Elizabeth II, but who had initially been turned down for the British coinage in preference to Gillick.

A cameo of Gillick’s effigy of the Queen has been used on British commemorative stamps since 1966.

She was married (1905) to another noteworthy sculptor, Ernest Gillick, who is believed to have influenced her work.

*All biographical excepts taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes only.

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