Sterling Silver Kookaburra Penny, 1919, Type 6 • The 'ultimate' prize • $200,000

There are many important coins within the Complete Kookaburra Collection. The 1920 Type 1 Halfpenny, with three examples known. The 1920 Crowned Head Type 10 Penny, the only penny to depict the monarch with a crown. The luxurious Type 4, extremely rare, an engaging design and proof-like satin surfaces. Or the Type 6, as with the Type 4, luxurious. Then there is the 1921 Type 2 Halfpenny. We could go on. But, if there is an 'ultimate' coin within the Complete Kookaburra Collection, it is the 1919 Sterling Silver Kookaburra Penny, Type 6. Impactful, visually powerful and unique. And on the two occasions the Collection has been exhibited, it is the Sterling Silver Kookaburra Penny that has attracted the most adulation. 

This coin has the immaculate design detail of the Type 6. But was struck in .925 fine Sterling Silver for Albert Le Souef, a passionate collector who also was a Deputy Master of the Melbourne Mint between 1921 and 1926. He amassed a magnificent collection that was almost entirely donated to the Museum of Victoria. His love of silver coinage was the driving force behind the striking of three Square Pennies in Sterling Silver. All dated 1919. The first was struck depicting the Type 4 design. A second depicting the Type 5 and the third, this coin, the design of the Type 6. Each coin is unique. And each is stunning. You would be forgiven for thinking they were struck to proof quality. The Sterling Silver Kookaburra Pennies have never been offered at auction. The earliest recorded private sale was in 1992, for $25,000.

This 1919 Sterling Silver Type 6 Kookaburra Penny has a brilliantly executed strike and the fields are highly polished (akin to a mirror). It does not get better than this! 

Rarity - Unique.

Composition - Sterling Silver (.925 fine)

Reverse - Kookaburra perched on a section of a tree branch, the word 'AUSTRALIA' sharply curved in large lettering, the penny denomination over two lines. The kookaburra presents a fuller version to the Type 5 and is shared with the Type 4, the beak elongated extending past the 'L' in 'AUSTRALIA' to the 'I', the tail with four feathers, the eye struck incuse. 

Obverse - Uncrowned effigy of George V designed by Australian artist Douglas Richardson and unique to the Type 6. We note a straight hairline behind the ear. The circular legend reads, GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN:REX, a legend that was maintained in all 1920 and 1921 designs. The date appears below the portrait with ornamental stops separating it from the legend.