Australia: Rejected pre-decimal designs of 1926

Started by <k>, October 09, 2011, 07:24:46 PM

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<k>

In 1926 Australia experimented with the idea of creating a new series of designs for its pre-decimal circulation coins.

These unadopted designs were created by Royal Mint engraver George Kruger-Gray.
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<k>

#1
KG 3d 1926 design.jpg


The pattern threepence depicted a kookaburra in a tree.

The kookaburra had been the subject for several pattern pennies a few years earlier.

However, neither they nor this threepence were ultimately accepted.
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<k>

#2
KG sixpence 1926 design.jpg


Kruger-Gray also created this sixpence design.

It was based on the feathers of the male lyre bird.
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<k>

#3
KG-sixpence 1926 design.jpg


Another Kruger-Gray creation was this kangaroo design for the sixpence.

It looks very different from the kangaroo that eventually graced the penny and halfpenny in 1938.
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<k>

#4
KG shilling 1926 design.jpg

Here is Kruger-Gray's design for the shilling.
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<k>

#5
KG florin 1926 design.jpg

Here is his design for the florin.
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<k>

#6
These designs were ultimately never accepted, and Australia had to wait until 1938 for a new design series.

I am grateful to T. Vincent Verheyen, an Australian writer and researcher into numismatics.

He provided me with these images, which come from the National Archives collection in London.
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translateltd

I find it interesting that the word AUSTRALIA is not mentioned on these reverses at all, and with the FID DEF IND IMP legends they could be mistaken at first glance for British coins, despite the Australian motifs.  Wonder if that was a factor in their rejection?




Figleaf

Another issue may have been that the design sinned against the tradition of having portrait, name and titles on the same side. In pre-Napoleonic times, the titles were often carried over to the other side for lack of space, but they started on the portrait side.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

translateltd

Quote from: Figleaf on October 10, 2011, 01:44:14 AM
Another issue may have been that the design sinned against the tradition of having portrait, name and titles on the same side. In pre-Napoleonic times, the titles were often carried over to the other side for lack of space, but they started on the portrait side.


British coins of George V through to pre-decimal coins of Elizabeth II often had FID DEF (with or without IND IMP, depending on the date) on the reverse, hence my comment.  I have not seen this done on any the coins of any other countries in the Empire/Commonwealth.




<k>

#10
It's also interesting that the stars on the sixpence design have eight points. On the eventual 1938 penny, they have seven points; so do the ones on the Australian flag that together from the Southern Cross.
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<k>

Quote from: translateltd on October 09, 2011, 11:15:19 PM
I find it interesting that the word AUSTRALIA is not mentioned on these reverses at all, and with the FID DEF IND IMP legends they could be mistaken at first glance for British coins, despite the Australian motifs.  Wonder if that was a factor in their rejection?

I don't think this will have been the reason for their rejection. The Royal Mint Advisory Committee was set up to handle questions like this, and of course the Royal Mint would have liaised with the Australian government and treasury, so any questions of that nature could easily have been resolved.
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