Australia Elizabeth II Perth Mint 1959 Penny Proof FDC

Sure to bring a prestigious lustre to any Australian collection, we have just the single example of the Perth Mint’s 1959 Penny Proof available – and what a coin it is!

Breathtaking to behold ‘in the flesh’, Perth Mint Predecimal Proofs are among the finest coins ever created in Australia. Coins of immense eye-appeal, these captivating coppers are underpinned by mesmerising orange hues, faultless fields, and razor-sharp designs. As exclusive as they are eye-catching, coins of the 1955-63 Collector Proof Coin Program are just as notable for their extreme rarity. The coin before you is a dramatic illustration of both the quality and the rarity of the series.

Issued for a collector market in its infancy, the mintage of the 1959 Penny Proof was an astonishingly low 1,030. Featuring acutely detailed designs and glowing orange surfaces, the 1959 Penny Proof seen here has clearly been carefully stored since struck, nearly seven decades ago. Unfortunately, this was not always the case with Perth Mint Predecimal Proofs. Suffering exposure to air and unwelcome handling, most such coins are no longer ‘first quality’. Some estimate that as few as 30-40% remain in original, first-class condition, as here.

A surprisingly affordable opportunity to play a part in Australia’s very first collector Proof program, we have just one example of the 1959 Penny Proof in stock. Click add to cart!

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.