1966 Perth One Cent - PCGS MS64RB

Australia, 1966 Perth One Cent -

Also known as the “blunted second whisker” variety, the 1966 Perth one cent is one of the key dates of the one cent series. Never issued in mint sets nor officially rolled by the Royal Australian Mint, the 1966 Perth one cent is notoriously difficult to find in Mint State. It is, in my view, harder than the famous 1968 one cent, and certainly more difficult to source with any kind of brilliance or colour. Most examples I’ve seen are spotted and darkly toned, while almost none have full brilliance. (Pre-decimal coin collectors would know that fully brilliant Perth pennies or halfpennies, out of which the one cent pieces were made, are almost impossible to find. With the exception of perhaps the 1966 Perth two cent, the Perth Mint is not known for manufacturing bright and shiny copper coins.) Keep an eye on this date. I think it has the potential to run hard over the next few years, once collectors realise just how rare it is to come by.