Penny of the Month: King George VI 1949

This month’s spotlight falls on the 1949 penny, of which 21,412,000 pieces were struck at the Melbourne Mint. While this figure comfortably exceeds the mintages of most wartime issues from 1911–64.

It is a far cry from Melbourne’s massive output just a few years later in 1964, where 238,990,000 pennies were struck. The 1949 penny is generally a well‑struck and well‑centred date, rarely seen with weak rims or edges. Error coins such as upset dies and brockages are seldom encountered, although a broadstrike may occasionally turn up in a bulk penny lot.

A notable feature of the 1949 Melbourne is the brilliant red lustre some uncirculated examples can display, sometimes even showing a full cartwheel effect, particularly on coins graded MS 65 RD or better. For this reason I often suggest this date as a great KGVI type coin for the penny series!