THE 1943 BOMBAY RESTRIKE PENNY

Andrew Crellin of Sterling & Currency in Fremantle, Western Australia writes:

In 1964, coin collectors in Australia and the United States were informed that Australian proof coins were being sold by the Bombay Mint.

The most alarming aspect of this report was that the Australian proof coins available were dated 1942 and 1943 - under normal conventions, production of them had stopped more than two decades earlier.

There was a credible explanation for this incredible revelation however, and the coins are regarded as prized rarities to this day.

Coins from India for Soldiers from America to Spend in Australia

Due to the scarcity of skilled labour and raw materials at our Mints, as well as the limits on manufacturing capacity the war imposed, coins were in very short supply across Australia after the outset of WWII. Once General Eisenhower decided that the US campaign in the Pacific was to be directed from Australia, close to a million US military personnel were based at various locations throughout Eastern Australia in the years between 1942 and 1945.

This number was at least 10% of the Australian population at the time - the arrival of the American forces here had a significant impact on many aspects of daily life in Australia, not least on the number of coins required to lubricate the wheels of commerce.

US servicemen were paid in cash, so the pre-existing scarcity of coinage was exacerbated in areas where they were based.

The US top brass were keenly aware of the potential impact on the morale of their troops if they didn't get paid.

Production of coinage during this period scaled up very quickly as a result - the number of coins struck for circulation in Australia in 1943 was more than ten times the number struck in 1939.

The Australian branch mints were simply not able to cope with this increase in demand, so production of Australia's coins was outsourced to mints as far afield as Bombay, San Francisco and Denver. The US Mints supplemented Australia’s silver coins, while the Bombay Mint was tasked with striking Australian pennies and halfpennies throughout 1942 and 1943.

The number of US servicemen based in Australia eased significantly as the war progressed, and production of Australian coins was again handled solely by Australian mints from 1945 onwards.

Indian Mints - Re-Striking Coins Since the 1890’s

An interesting adjunct to the story that Indian branch mints struck coins for Australia in times of crisis is that authorities on Indian numismatics readily acknowledge that the Indian mints have re-struck many coins for collectors for many decades. The pioneering authority on British Indian coins, Major Frank Pridmore, stated that “The principal period of these ‘original’ proof specimens was from 1890 to 1905.[1]”

“Restrike” is the term used to describe coins that were struck again after the official mintage run ended. For example, if dies used to strike a coin dated 1892 were used to strike more coins in 1927, then the resulting coins are described as being “restrikes”. Those coins were struck using official dies, by Mint staff on the Mint’s premises, so while they are unequivocally genuine, they are correctly described as “restrikes”.

The average collector might regard the practice of re-striking coins as quite unusual, however that opinion clearly wasn’t shared by the staff of the Bombay Mint throughout the 20th century.

To read the complete article, see:
The Bombay Mint Restrikes of Australia's Proof Copper Coins - 1942 and 1943 (https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/bombay-mint-restrikes-australias-proof-copper-coins-1942-and-1943)

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