King George VI 1949 3-Coin Set Fine-Very Fine

An authentic keepsake of the World War II era and post-war reconstruction period, the King George VI 1938-52 Year Sets also form a great way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other special milestone.

George VI, elevated to the throne following the unexpected abdication of his elder brother, Edward VIII, never expected to be King, and perhaps would have never thought himself capable of leading Britain through its greatest crisis – WWII. He carried out this onerous task with aplomb, devoting every
shred of his energy to leading the British nation and the Allies to victory over the Axis Powers.

Not only a crucial time in 20th century history, the ascent of George VI to the throne also marked a major turning point in Australian numismatics. With the exception of the sixpence, the original designs of Australian coinage first seen in 1910 and 1911 were revised in 1937. Thus, during the reign of
George VI, Australia had different reverses for each denomination for the first time.

Designed by George Kruger Gray, the penny and halfpenny carried the Bounding Kangaroo design, with the threepence (stalks of wheat), shilling (Ram’s Head) and florin (Coat of Arms) all different in design than the coins of George V and Edward VII. The sixpence, designed by WHJ Blakemore, carried the original Coat of Arms design. Depicting the uncrowned effigy of George VI facing left, the obverse found on each of the six denominations was designed by Thomas Humphrey Paget.

Metallic composition

The threepence coin was struck from silver. From 1946 until 1952, the silver coins comprised 50% silver, 40% copper, 5% zinc and 5% nickel. The halfpenny and penny comprised 97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin.