Australia Florin KGV 1916m – 1919m KM# 27
Arguably these are the first fair dinkum Aussie florins, minted in Melbourne and marked with a tiny “M” on the reverse below the date – the 1910 – 1915 issues being produced in England and sent out.
The coin in the photos is a 1919m in aEF, AU 53 on the Sheldon scale. I know it looks like a good VF but, in hand, the 7th and 8th pearls are present though flattened ( a difficult sell based on only the pics presented I admit, but then I’m just an amateur in the field of coin photograpy ). On the other hand, the images at least show that there is only what’s often called ‘remnant lustre’, that is original mint bloom restricted to the surface under the legends and close to the rim.
Made in Melbourne
The issues from only 4 years – 1916 to 1919 – received that mintmark. They are the only florins with an Australian mintmark, the other mintmarked florins are the Second World War era US minted coins from San Francisco and Denver.
Personally I think the Melbourne coins made for a cracker of a design, with the kangaroo and emu on the reverse – even though a foreign king had the heads’ side. That’s understandable given the era and, yes, I simply do not understand why an alien head of state’s image is still produced on contemporary coinage. Go figure..
Anyway… the ’19m is the champ in terms of pricing, being last of the set and lowest in mintage numbers it commands a premium even in the lower grades. What happened to the ’16m ?
Well, I would say they all need to be on the radar since passing the ‘100 year old coin’ stage; you might be lucky enough to still grab them in grades of VF or better – before the estimated value becomes, let’s say, unrealistic. VF’s a tough grade to accurately assess though – in my opinion probably the most unclear after the change from EF to Unc. The starting point is the clarity and detail across the highest point of the obverse, – the bands of the crown and their contents…
Happy Collecting!
pre1946silver.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.