1 Penny - George V Kookaburra Pattern - Type 6a

In 1919, the Australian government was actively searching for a design to replace the inherited British penny type. The Kookaburra patterns — produced in multiple types across 1919 and 1920 — were part of a serious official effort to establish a distinctly Australian coinage identity. Type 6a is one of the silver strikings, almost certainly produced for presentation or cabinet purposes rather than circulation testing; the .925 composition makes no practical sense for a working penny trial.

The broader Kookaburra pattern series was ultimately abandoned. Australia would not adopt the kookaburra as a penny motif until the 1990s commemorative program — over seventy years later.