South Africa 1931 6 pence
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." This is the key date for South African sixpences after the very rare 1928. In 1931, the reverse was modified to read "6 D" instead of "6 PENCE" and struck in this form until 1936.
Recorded mintage: 4,743 plus 62 proofs.
Specification: 2.83 g, 0.800 fine silver, 19.4 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 16.2. KM-PS6; Hern-P7 (proof set).
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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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