The aftermath of war can cripple a country. Whether physically or financially, it can take years and sometimes even decades to get back on track. Our next entry in our blog series covering Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Modern World Coins looks at one of those situations where a government resorted to changing their coinage in an attempt to get back on track. Authors Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker will help us along in explaining some of the most unique coins ever issued.
#55 – Australia 1919-1921 Square Kookaburra Patterns
The conclusion of World War I would spotlight the Australian government’s deep-seated debt and spring into action cost-cutting monetary reforms that would ultimately lead to Australia’s rounded square kookaburra pattern coins. Treasurer William Watt would propose that the treasury deviate from the bimetallic standard to the fiat system which would reduce the silver content in the country’s coins and endorse smaller and cheaper coins. The copper penny and half penny were expensive and clunky.
The proposal and the creation of the kookaburra pattern coins that were struck between 1919 and 1921 caused a complete transformation of Australian coinage. Their design and look not only changed the way coinage was approached, but the introduction of copper-nickel as a composition rather than bronze. Even though around 200 examples were struck and given to government officials, the amount of pushback the coins saw would cause the kookaburra program to never see the light of day. However, they were struck as “proposals of what could have been, providing a captivating “what if” to the study of Australian numismatic history.”
There are a total of 23 known subtypes known, 21 penny and two half penny types. Twenty of those are struck in copper-nickel. Most of them are cosmetic differences. Silver versions of three different types of the 1919-date pennies were struck under the order of Melbourne Mint Deputy Mint Master A.H. Le Souef. Their value today is around $400,000.
The 1920 half penny is extremely rare with only three examples known. The most affordable and available is the 1921 half penny which sold for AU$95,000. 1921 also saw the most minted of the penny with 40 total and 12 different types.