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George VI
The penny switched over to the Kruger Gray, or Kangaroo reverse in 1937 though no circulation coins were issued until 1938 and continued with the design until 1952. The design features a Kangaroo jumping to the right with 'AUSTRALIA' around the top of the design, 'PENNY' around the bottom and the year right above that, just behind the Kangaroo's legs. The obverse features an uncrowned bust of King George VI facing to the left and the legend, 'GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND : IMP' ('George VI, by the grace of god, Ruler and King of Britain, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India') and was used up until 1948 then changed because of the independence of India.
Date set collectors will have no problems completing the series with the key dates, the 1940-KG, 1944, 1946 and 1948-Y being readily available in lower grades though the 1946 tends to command reasonably strong prices. In upper grades, type set collectors would find best value in the 1938, 1947 and 1948 pennies.
Pennies in this series were struck at the Melbourne, Bombay and Perth mints. Perth mint pennies feature a dot after the 'Y' of 'PENNY' and no dot before 'PENNY' whereas the Bombay mint pennies featured both dots and also the mintmark 'I' under the bust on the obverse. All other pennies in the series were struck at the Melbourne mint.
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