Australia Elizabeth II Perth Mint 1956 Penny Proof FDC

Tiny mintage just 417! Excessively rare!

An outstanding opportunity to be one the select few to own this historic, immensely rare predecimal issue, we have one example of the Perth Mint’s 1956 Penny Proof available!

The crisply struck coins; the fascinating history of Australia’s first national currency system; the limited availability…the 1955-63 Collector Proof Coin Program can be appreciated on so many levels. It is described as the pinnacle of numismatics in this country, and it is a summit so many seek to climb. The nature of the series means that only a select few can make it to the top, with 1955-63 Proofs issued in the tiniest of numbers for a collector market in its infancy. The Perth Mint’s 1956 Proof Penny is an excellent case in point.

One of the rarest issues of the series, the 1956 Proof Penny had a tiny mintage of just 417. This was the second lowest mintage of the entire Perth Mint & Melbourne Mint 1955-63 Collector Proof Coin Program! Seldom seen on the market, we have just one example of this great Australian rarity available.

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The Heritage of Australia’s Proof Currency

In the modern age, collectors are used to the Royal Australian Mint issuing Proof examples of Australia’s traditional circulating coinage in significant numbers. Every year, thousands of people have the chance to enjoy our beloved, iconic coins, struck to the highest possible quality. This wasn’t always the case…

Traditionally, mints both in Australia and elsewhere around the world struck Proof coinage for very specific reasons – and catering for the broader collector market wasn’t one of those reasons. Proof examples of coins were struck for government institutions, for archival purposes, for institutions such as museums, and to distribute to other mints. As a result, these coins were struck in the tiniest of numbers, with mintages of less than 10 pieces a regular occurrence. As the global collector market began to grow, however, so did pressure to strike Proof coinage in more substantial numbers.

In Australia, there were a few Proof issues for collectors in the pre-WWII era – the 1927 Canberra Florin Proof, for example – but the number struck was still minuscule. In the 1950s, however, Treasury bowed to collector and dealer pressure and sanctioned the striking of Proof coins as part of an ongoing commercial venture. Government insisted on intervening in just one aspect – only those coins being struck by a mint for circulation could be issued as Proofs.

For the Perth Mint, tasked only with producing Australian copper coins, this meant the striking of penny and halfpenny Proofs only. From the launch of the Collector Proof Coin Program in 1955 until its conclusion in 1963, just prior to the changeover to decimal currency, the Perth Mint attained a level of excellence with its Proof coinage that was the equal of any mint in the world.

Magnificent to behold, the coins are glorious. Underpinned by a rich array of orange hues, and notable for the impeccably smooth background fields and highly detailed designs, Perth Mint Proofs rank as some of the finest coins ever produced in Australia. Struck in the tiniest numbers, and with many lost or mishandled in the many decades since issue, Perth Mint Predecimal Proofs also rank among the rarest.

The nation’s very first annual Proof coin series, the Collector Proof Coin Program, forms one of the most important elements of Australia’s currency heritage. This is your chance to be a part of it.