South Africa 1931 penny
The first specimen was lot 25983 in Heritage sale 3032 (Chicago, April 2014), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "George V Proof Penny 1931, PR66 Brown NGC. Lovely with brilliant chocolate-brown patina. From a tiny mintage of 62 pieces." The second specimen was part of lot 1621 in Stacks-Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2015), which sold for $27,260. The catalog description[2] 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." The South African pennies of George V run 1923-36 with this subtype issued 1931-36. It is reasonably common considering the moderate mintage.
Recorded mintage: 284,000 plus 62 proofs.
Specification: 9.45 g, bronze, 30.8 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 14.3.
- 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]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3032, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2014.
- [2]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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