Australian Florins

1942 San Francisco Mint Silver Florin

Sterling Silver
In 1942, Australia was at war. The Japanese were on our doorstep and the Americans were already here, in fact the well paid American servicemen spent up so much that they literally broke our banks supply of small change. The Sydney Mint had closed its doors in 1926, having gone broke making money and the Perth and Melbourne Mints could not cope with the quotas required. The San Francisco and Denver Mints came to the party and produced over 6 million pounds worth of silver florin, sixpence and threepence coins. The San Francisco florins have a "S" mintmark over the date..

1942 Australian Silver Florin San Francisco Mint
Mintage
6,000,000

The coins of George VI face the same way as his father, this is not a break with tradition. It was more correctly an allowance for what might have happened if Edward VIII had coins released bearing his portrait.
Carries the first type of the George VI obverse. This one was used for coins minted between 1938 and 1950.

Points to consider when grading the reverse are:
  • the Emu's back feathers;
  • the shoulder and haunches of the kangaroo;
  • the orb on the crown;
  • the sharpness of details on the denticles, lettering, crown and shield;
  • the rim for dents and nicks;
  • A weak strike will show in the grass and the crown, wattle wreath and the detail of the shield.

Specifications
Composition: .925 silver
Silver Content: 0.3363 oz
Edge: Reeded
Weight: 11.31 grams
Size: 28.5 mm
Obverse: Thomas H Paget
Reverse: George Kruger Gray

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