1930 Penny, a coin that defies the odds because to the naked eye you would hardly know it had circulated.

1930 Penny reverse with nice edges, handsome even toning and a strong '1930' date.

1930 Penny obverse with the first side of the central diamond emerging and six pearls with the sixth showing slight wear.

Examining a 1930 Penny is a three-point process.

Step 1 is to look at the coin in the flesh using just the naked eye.

A truly great coin will always look good to the unaided eye. And this coin is a beauty!

The lower scroll is strong. The upper scroll is weakly struck. (It is a common occurrence.)  The reverse fields are highly reflective and very smooth with even, handsome chocolate brown toning. The inner beading is intact, the legend 'COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA' and date '1930' are powerful.

We also comment on the highly reflective obverse fields and the handsome chocolate brown toning.

Step 2 is to take up a magnifying glass and examine the coin in detail.

The eye glass re-confirms what we have seen to the naked eye ... and much, much more.

This first side of the central diamond is just emerging and there are six pearls, with the sixth pearl showing wear.

Step 3 is to re-visit the coin with the naked eye just to make sure that you have taken everything in.

The final assessment of this 1930 Penny confirms that it is a great coin and passes our three-point assessment with flying colours.

Four reasons why collectors love the 1930 Penny. 

Reason 1. One of the prime reasons for the popularity of the 1930 Penny is its financial reliability. It is a solid coin. And in times such as we have experienced in 2020 and even now in 2021 this genuinely counts.

Reason 2. In fact, we would go one step further and say that over the long term the 1930 Penny has probably been one of our most consistent and trustworthy numismatic performers.

Reason 3. Another reason for its popularity is that the coin is as Australian as you can get. Struck during the Great Depression, the 1930 Penny is the nation’s glamour coin and is unrivalled for popularity, enjoying a constant stream of demand unmatched by any other numismatic rarity.

Reason 4. The coin is an industry phenomenon, for in a market that is quality focused it is interesting to note that the 1930 Penny is keenly sought irrespective of its quality ranking. And growth over the mid to long term has been significant across all quality levels.

Well circulated (Fine) 1930 Pennies were selling for £50 in the 1950s. A decade later, by decimal changeover, the coins were fetching £255 ($510). By 1988, Australia's Bicentenary, a Fine 1930 Penny had reached $6000. The turn of the century saw 1930 Penny prices move to a minimum of $13,000. Twenty years later prices have more than doubled.

And with a 100th anniversary just seven years away, the push to acquire Australia’s favourite Penny is really on.