The 1947 Perth mint half penny is a relatively difficult issue to obtain in mint state especially if sought in MS64 or above despite its high mintage of nearly 10 million. Its scarcity in top grades derives from the Perth mint 's typically problematic strike paired with the lack of mint rolls surfacing though at least one roll has surfaced accounting for any availability. The year typically has a glossy lustre infused with die clash producing a satiny finish. While this may provide the appearance of a higher mint state grade coin, the surfaces tend to be littered with bagmarks as is so commonly seen on Perth mint copper which tends to limit the grading to MS64 at best. The issue usually suffers from a central strike weakness, no doubt owing to the lack of concavity in the Perth mint dies which results in a slightly flat obverse bust.
Soft bust on a 1947 Perth mint Half Penny
