1940 Shilling - PCGS MS63

Australia, 1940 Shilling -

There are a number of key dates in the George VI shilling series: The 1946 Perth shilling is one, and the 1943 shilling could be considered another. However, nothing in the series compares to the 1940, which is the key date in the run and one of the harder shillings to get overall. I haven’t had an example in stock in Mint State for at least two years, and although the coin photographed above is only graded PCGS MS63, it is one of the best 1940 shillings I’ve seen on the market in many years. Surprisingly, PCGS has graded six examples in MS64 and two in MS65, but I would say that this is a result of selection bias. Have a look closely at the coin photographed above: Its fields are clear and it has a completely original tone that can’t be faulted. A dealer of raw or ungraded coins would certainly call this coin Choice UNC; it certainly looks the part. Catalogues $800 in UNC and $1,500 in Choice UNC, and very scarce this nice.