1981 2¢ Varieties

[Fulvio]

Some great info there Ian, especially since its applicable to all coins, not just these. Oh, and welcome back.

[Mister T]

Both came from Reserve Bank rolls and they don't have a sharp claw. The Canberra mint only used there own RAM paper, if any bulk coins were sent out, they went to the commercial banks where they used there banks' paper.

Ah, of course.
Thanks; all very interesting.

[Mister T]

Both came from Reserve Bank rolls and they don't have a sharp claw. The Canberra mint only used there own RAM paper, if any bulk coins were sent out, they went to the commercial banks where they used there banks' paper.

Oh, and are the Canberra coins long or short 7?

[Cobwebs]

Canberra long (normal length), Perth short and long.

Cheers

[Cobwebs]

So, I'm working through this heap of copper I got from the bank the other day...

Thus far, about 2 bags in...

1966 Perth no SD,
1966 Perth Thin SD x2,
1968 x3
1981 Small Obv Filled R,
1981 Small Obv Frill Cuds,
1983 UNC/aUNC x 6

But, these 1981's are driving me nuts...
I've got about 1/3 Small Obv, which should be Canberra. Perth should be Large Obv, and Wales medium. I also have all three rim shapes.

But...

There appears to be no difference in the toes. I believe this may be due to dies being worn by 1981, and the difference being miniscule. There also seems to be no pattern to the rims vs Obv sizes, which makes no sense at all to me.

So, my question is, has anyone got definitive answers to the whole issue of positively identifying the mints in 1981? I do have Ian's research notes, but they are from many many years ago, and contain contradictions and speculation. I hope you guys can do better.

I'd really like to get this sorted, because I've barely scratched the surface of this pile of coins, and I can see myself with many many piles of the little buggers, and going (not so) quietly insane. :dodgy:

Fulvio, something else I found in my notes/article or defunct website.

Obverse fishtailing
Separating the coins 1973 to 1983 with flat based and curved based letters, you will find that the flat based letters have the sharp Canberra claw, the curved based letters have the short claw. I must stress at this point that the curved based lettering on coins should be used as an aid to identification.

[Fulvio]

Obverse fishtailing

Thanks for that Ian. Too ill to do anything about it right now, but I've made a note for next week hopefully.

[Unicorn]

Get well soon Fulvio! :lazy2:

The men in black from the RBA didn't pay you a visit did they? :mafia: :big_boss:

[Fulvio]

The men in black from the RBA didn't pay you a visit did they? :mafia: :big_boss:

LOL! No.. it was my dear old dad, bringing home the dreaded lurgy for me. He even hid the meds I bought him just as soon as he got better. :dodgy:

[Mister T]

So, my question is, has anyone got definitive answers to the whole issue of positively identifying the mints in 1981? I do have Ian's research notes, but they are from many many years ago, and contain contradictions and speculation. I hope you guys can do better.

Where are these notes?
And did you ever end up resolving this?

[Fulvio]

Where are these notes?
And did you ever end up resolving this?

He had a website up with quite a lot of useful material. Now defunct, but you can find it on the ol' Wayback Machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://members.optusnet.com.au/~ihartshorn

No, with all the medical dramas I ended up just bagging all the copper up and putting it aside. Haven't managed to overcome my inertia yet to get back into it.

[Mister T]

Ah bugger. I've got a few put aside somewhere and was hoping for a resolution.
I found an old article for the 5c pieces and the 10c pieces so I might deal with them first.