1921 Kookaburra Penny, Type 12

Numismatically, the quest to define Australia's national identity began with the Kookaburra Pennies and Halfpennies.

It was Australia's first attempt at independent design in our coinage, a currency that was Australian in imagery, concept and form, produced in 1919, 1920 and 1921 at the Melbourne Mint. 

Coins with simple design elegance, produced for Australians, by Australians. Avand-guard and adventurous, the historical significance of the kookaburra coins cannot be overstated.

This Square Penny was struck in the final year of testing at the Melbourne Mint - 1921 - and features a plump kookaburra with the words ‘AUSTRALIA’ AND ‘ONE PENNY’ above and below it.

The coin is referenced, Renniks Type 12.

The design is unique to the date 1921. No other Square Penny has this bird.

It is extremely rare for we would be lucky to sight one, maybe two, Type 12 Kookaburra Pennies on the market every year. And it is affordable. 

We recently sold a 1919 Type 4 Kookaburra Penny, the price $95,000. Also sold, the 1919 Type 4 Kookaburra Silver Penny, the price $185,000. The rarity of the pieces justified the prices but  understandably, they are out of reach of a number of collectors. The very reason why the Type 12 is so popular.

It is a statement 0f fact that not every collector can afford such luxuries. Which is why the Type 12 is so popular.

Rarity - one of an estimated thirty-five to forty known. On average, a Type 12 Kookaburra Penny would be offered every six to eight months.

Composition - Nickel 75% Copper 25%

Reverse - A design shared with the Type 2 Kookaburra Halfpenny, a plump bird resting on a short, thick branch, the word 'AUSTRALIA' curved, the penny denomination in one line across the base of the coin. 

Obverse - Uncrowned effigy of George V, designed by Australian sculptor, Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal, the initials 'BM' appearing on truncation, and shared with the Type 2 Kookaburra Halfpenny. The legend reads GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN:REX and appears on all the halfpennies Type 1 and Type 2 and the pennies Type 6 through to 12. The date '1921' appears below the portrait, an ornamental dot separating it from the legend. 

We have put together a set of Australia’s four classic coin rarities, the 1813 Holey Dollar and Dump, the 1852 Adelaide Pound and a 1921 Kookaburra Penny. Each coin modestly priced and the set of four presented in a hand-crafted Anton Gerner Presentation case.

A unique set and heirloom worthy!

The Melbourne Mint commenced striking Australia's Commonwealth copper pennies in 1919.  No sooner had the mint started issuing coins, than it was directed by Treasury to commence testing an entirely new penny concept, a square coin made from cupro-nickel. 

The Melbourne Mint was established in 1872, and was a producer of gold and silver coins and had just commenced production of bronze pennies in 1919. While new to the mint, the striking of nickel coinage as legal tender had been incorporated into the Commonwealth's Coinage Act of 1909 (No. 6 of 1909), passed after Federation.

The period 1919 to 1921, sits squarely in the post–World War I period, the first years of peace after immense war-time loss. And an experimental era when Australia was rebuilding its national confidence and defining its own national identity through design. Or through whatever means it could. 

For many Australians, it was a time for breaking out, of questioning and changing old values and behaviour and enjoying the good life. It was a time of great change. People forgot the old and embraced the new in an attempt to leave the hardship and struggles of the war behind them. New technology was being created, like toasters and cars, things that today we take for granted. The fashion world was exploding, Australians embracing great change in their styles of dress.

Australians were identifying with their own culture, keen to lessen the emotional and cultural ties with Great Britain. The Government wanted to tap into this nationalistic sentiment and create a new, totally Australian coinage, the Kookaburra Penny and Kookaburra Halfpenny, envisaging coins that would be unique to Australia.

It was one of the instruments the Government believed would give us a greater awareness, and appreciation, of all things Australian. A mechanism to promote national spirit. 

The proposal was contentious in that King George V was depicted on the obverse without a crown. It is noted that all coins struck under the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia depicted a crowned monarch.

Contentious also the use of the word 'Australia' in the design and not 'Commonwealth of Australia'. It was a hard road to Federation, uniting the six colonies under one banner, involving decades of negotiation and intense debate. Ultimately, the six separate British colonies united under the banner Commonwealth of Australia on January 1, 1901. Again it is noted that Australia's bronze pennies and halfpennies issued by the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia acknowledged the nation's federated status in the legend. 

Trials commenced at the Melbourne Mint in 1919 and continued until 1921, the mint producing different designs, each a variation of the one theme of a kookaburra sitting on a branch and on the other side, an uncrowned portrait of George V. The test pieces ultimately passed to dignitaries and Government officials to assess their reaction. 

The program of testing did not move forward beyond 1921. And the coins did not move into production. It is believed that over the three-year period two hundred pieces, of various designs, were produced, of which we estimate, one hundred and fifty are available to collectors. 

The best thing for collectors is that the one hundred and fifty kookaburra coins do not bear the same design. The Melbourne Mint tested many different styles of both obverse and reverse introducing enormous interest, personal choice and procurement challenges into the series.

There is no consensus as to why the coins did not move into production. The resignation in 1920 of Treasurer, William Watts, a supporter of the Kookaburra coinage did not impact on the program as his replacement Sir Joseph Cook was strongly in favour. That vending machines required a circular coin is also refuted as is the claim that it was unpopular with the general population. 

Our view is that it was simply too soon in the national psyche.

While shaping our identity was politically expedient, uniting the states under the banner of Commonwealth of Australia was deemed a higher and more important priority. And the reality is the words 'Commonwealth of Australia' could never have been incorporated into the kookaburra design, given the size of the coins. 

The quest to define Australia's national identity began with the Kookaburra Pennies and Halfpennies. It was Australia's first attempt at independent design in our coinage, a currency that was Australian in imagery, concept and form. 

Their historical importance cannot be overstated. The coins clearly reflect where we were as a nation post-World War I.