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1921 Kookaburra Square Penny


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1921 Kookaburra Square Penny
COIN
1921 Kookaburra Square Penny
PRICE
$25,000
STATUS
Sold June 2022
QUALITY
Uncirculated
PROVENANCE
Private Collection Victoria
COMMENTS
There has never been a better time to buy a Kookaburra Square Penny. The coin is a 'blue-chip' coin rarity. Yet in 2022, prices are a little subdued. This Uncirculated 1921 Kookaburra Penny is offered at $25,000. The price is indicative of a market that has simply forgotten just how extremely rare and important the coin is. We are not phased. It's a pattern that we have seen before amongst Australia's top coin rarities, including the iconic 1930 Penny. Yes, even Australia's favourite copper coin, the 1930 Penny, went through a quiet phase in the lead up to 2022. And it's now taken off and prices have accelerated! Shares, property and rare coins ... subdued prices present great buying opportunities. And at $25,000, this Kookaburra Square Penny is one such opportunity. It’s rare, the quality is fabulous and it’s a definite one-off. The technical shots below re-affirm its superb state.
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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.

The coin has an additional feature that collectors enjoy. It is extremely rare for we would be lucky to sight one, maybe two, Type 12 Square Pennies on the market every year.

So if you are excited by the prospect of owning a 1921 Square Penny then you can be even more excited by the prospect of owning this particular example because it is well struck and well preserved.

The technical shots confirm its superb state.

When the Kookaburra Square Penny was created, Australians were recovering from the war and determined to lessen the ties with Great Britain. The mood even filtered through to our coinage!

The Government planned to introduce a square penny with our native bird on the reverse. And the monarch minus his crown on the obverse!

Provocative and contentious but uniquely Australian.

Australia entered a modern age post World War I. For many Australians, it was a time for breaking out socially, 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, great changes were embraced in styles of dress. Australians were identifying with their own culture, keen to lessen the emotional and cultural ties with Great Britain.

Creating a new, totally Australian coinage was a part of the deal which is why the Government floated the idea of the Kookaburra Penny envisaging a coin that would be unique to Australia.

The Government's plan was to discard the British-styled penny and halfpenny and to create a coin with a typically Australian design featuring the nation's native bird, the kookaburra.

To maximise impact, a new shape was planned with the move from circular to square. And bronze was to be discarded and a new metal taken up, that of cupro-nickel.

Tests began at the Melbourne Mint in 1919 and continued for three years, ending in 1921.

Today there are approximately 200 kookaburra coins held by private collectors, making it on a par for rarity with the 1813 Holey Dollar, the nation's first silver coin. And the 1852 Adelaide Pound, the nation's first gold coin.

The best thing for collectors is that the 200 kookaburra pennies do not bear the same design. The Melbourne Mint tested thirteen different styles introducing enormous interest, personal choice and procurement challenges into the series, for some designs are far rarer than others.

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The 1921 Kookaburra Penny design R12 reverse.
The legend 'Australia' and 'One Penny' is highly detailed. The surfaces are smooth and reflective. The edges are solid. Most Type 12 Kookaburra Pennies don't come like this!

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The 1921 Type 12 Kookaburra Penny features an uncrowned portrait of George V.

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