Elizabethan Pennies – The Scarce “Mule” Obverses
It might surprise you to learn that during the reign of Elizabeth II, several valuable penny varieties exist. They are to be found in the differences between the Melbourne obverse die and the one created for the Perth Mint.
The two obverses for Melbourne and Perth pennies can be understood as follows – see the alignment of the letter I in ELIZABETH and REGINA on these two examples to observe the differences. The Perth obverse has the letters I pointing BETWEEN rim beads, while Melbourne has the I pointing DIRECTLY AT the rim beads.
In 1955 Perth relied heavily on the Melbourne obverse, thus any 1955 Perth Penny with the Perth Obverse die is scarce. I have one available in the link as follows: https://topendcoins.com.au/product/australia-1955-perth-obverse-penny-pcgs-au53/
However the Perth team minted just a few 1956 pennies with that same Melbourne obverse die common in 1955, so in 1956 it is the OTHER obverse die that is the scarce variety. Confused yet? Here’s the 1956 Melbourne I have in stock: https://topendcoins.com.au/product/australia-1956-perth-penny-mule-pcgs-ms63/
Note also the difference in strike. Try to find a quality strike like that on the right, not so easy with Perth Mint. I’m not sure why – old equipment or, quite possibly like Sydney, the machinery was made for pressing softer gold. Cheers, Les 0455 660 884