1938 Australia Crown

Comments: Originally issued in 1937 to mark the coronation of King George VI. It's commemorative appeal was lost when it was issued again in 1938. The 1938 coins fetch a much higher price due to a much smaller mintage in that year.

The proof 1938 crown was prepared as a single commercial proof release along side the other 1938 denominations as part of the proofcoin collector program started in 1937. A total of 100 coins were prepared but the relatively high issue price of 6/- made it undesirable, particularly in the post-depression America where most Australian proof coins were sold to. In addition, proof coin pioneer, H. G. Williams did not order the crown with the rest of the proofs perhaps due to his disappointment with the 1937 crown profits (Verheyen, T, V, 2009) . A total of 100 were prepared however dealer correspondence with the Melbourne mint indicated that 18 had been sold and a further 6 were sold to that dealer (Verheyen, T, V, 2009) though information compiled by Sharpl