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Australia 1922/1 Threepence (Overdate)

Mint:Melbourne Mintage:Part 5,704,000 Estimate 1,000 Milling:Plain
Weight:1.41 grams Diameter:16 mm Composition:92.5% Silver, 7.5% Copper
Click to enlarge
Wear
Obverse 2 - English
Click to enlarge
Wear
Reverse B - London
Designer: Sir (Edgar) Bertram Mackennal (Initials 'B.M.' raised on truncation)
Design:Left facing profile of George V
Legend:GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP: •
Denticle Count:121 teeth
Mint mark: None
Designer: William Henry James Blakemore (no attribution)
Design:Star above a Kangaroo and Emu standing left and right of the Armorial Ensigns of the Commonwealth of Australia. 'ADVANCE AUSTRALIA' in ribbon below. ∋ ∈
Legend:THREEPENCE
Denticle Count:115 teeth
Mint mark: None
Characteristics:
Click on Wear to show high points first susceptible to wear
Value
BM
Ad
NP
8
Good
VG10
10
VG
F12
12
about F
F15
15
Fine
VF20
20
good F
VF25
25
about VF
VF30
30
Very Fine
VF35
35
good VF
EF40
40
about EF
EF45
45
Ext Fine
AU50
50
good EF
AU53
53
about Unc
AU55
58+
virt Unc
AU58
58-60
Uncirc
MS60
58-61
Uncirc
MS61
58-62
Uncirc
MS62
63-64
Choice Unc
MS63
64-65
near Gem
MS64
65-66
Gem
MS65
66-67
Gem
MS66
67-68
Gem
MS67
68
near Flaw
MS68
69
virt Flaw
MS69
70
Flawless
MS70
Proof
$4000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
5
 
$5000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
6
 
$7500
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
6
 
$11500
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
$13500
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
1
 
$20000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
2
 
$25000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
$30000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
1
 
$50000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
$60000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
1
 
$75000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
$90000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
$125000
+
NGC
1
 
PCGS
1
 
$175000
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
-
+
NGC
 
 
PCGS
 
 
N
BM
Benchmark
Ad
Adjectival
NP
NGC/PCGS
Collectable grades
Does not exist by definition

Investment grades
-
Unlikely to exist

Aspirational grades
BV
Bullion or metal value

Not known in these grades
''
Value as above
Proof
Y (Yes)
N (Not known)
Last updated March 2024
Notes:
The 1922/1 Overdate Threepence is a controversial coin appearing to be an early experiment by the Melbourne Mint to alter the date on a die. It is thought that in this instance the last figure on a working hub was simply hammered flat and a new figure was roughly re-entered on the ensuing die while it was still soft. Melbourne Mint had been experimenting with die work on pennies as early as 1919 and on the dies for the 1921 silver threepences and sixpences from which it had removed mint marks, but this would appear to be the first time that it attempted to re-enter a changed date on a Commonwealth coin. It is known that in 1922 the Melbourne Mint did not have the figure punches needed to alter dies, so either the mint fashioned its own tool to attempt the task, which would account for the crude result, or these unrecorded coins were struck after February, 1923 when the punches became available. What is certain is that this overdate is the product of just one experimental reverse die, as all examples have the same diagnostic pimple of metal in the reverse field at the juncture of the legs of the kangaroo. This rarity is usually found in only 'Very Good' condition and so this 'marker' may not be always apparent on heavily worn examples. However, buyers should be alerted to the fact that there was a flurry of 'identical' cast copies of the 1922/1 Overdate Threepence that hit the market in the early 1990s. These coins did not display this 'marker' but as another test were significantly underweight even for such a worn coin.