South Africa 1931 1/2 penny
This specimen was part of lot 1621 in Stacks-Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2015), which sold for $27,260. The catalog description[1] noted, "SOUTH AFRICA. Eight Piece Proof Set, 1931. 8 pieces in set. Mintage of only 62 sets. The copper issues have a beautiful milk chocolate patina with light iridescent toning on hard proof surfaces. The silver issues have a light iridescent toning on hard proof surfaces which deepens to a charcoal grey towards the peripherals with the 6 pence darker overall than the others. An attractive and evenly matched set graded by PCGS. Grades as follows: 1/4 Penny PROOF-64 BN, 1/2 Penny PROOF-64 BN, PROOF-64 BN, 3 Pence PROOF-64 CAMEO, 6 Pence PROOF-64, Shilling PROOF-64 CAMEO, 2 Shilling PROOF-64 CAMEO, and the 2 1/2 Shilling PROOF-64." All the business strikes show the denomination on the reverse as "½ PENNY"; only the proofs have the reverse shown here. In 1931, the reverse was modified to read "½ D" instead and struck in this form until 1936.
Recorded mintage: 145,000 plus 62 proofs.
Specification: bronze.
Catalog reference: KM 13.3. KM-PS6; Hern-P7 (proof set).
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 42nf ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Hern, Brian, John Bothma and Hercie Pieterse, Hern's Handbook on South African Coins & Patterns, Ferndale, South Africa, 2013.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, The January 2015 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Featuring the John W. Adams and Ray Czabor Collections, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2014.
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