Obverse. Photo © Heritage Auctions
  • 1 Shilling 1938-1944, KM# 39, Australia, George VI
  • 1 Shilling 1938-1944, KM# 39, Australia, George VI
Obverse

A bare head of George VI facing left; below head in small lettering the artist's initials HP.

GEORGIUS VI DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM OMNIUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIAE IMPERATOR means George VI, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.

George VI (1895–1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth.

As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward. George's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936. However, later that year Edward revealed his desire to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry a divorced woman and remain king. Edward abdicated in order to marry, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor.

Engraver: Thomas Humphrey Paget

GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP.
HP

Reverse

Merino ram surrounded by the country name above and value below; on the right in small lettering the artist's initials KG.

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. An adult female sheep is referred to as a ewe, an intact male as a ram or occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a younger sheep as a lamb.

Sheep husbandry is practised throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has been fundamental to many civilizations. In the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, the southern and central South American nations, and the British Isles are most closely associated with sheep production.

Engraver: George Kruger Gray

AUSTRALIA
KG
SHILLING·1940

Edge
Characteristics
Material Silver
Fineness 0.925
Weight 5.65 g
Diameter 23.5 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mints
Melbourne Mint
San Francisco Mint (S)

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