My Mystery Penny from Australia, c. 1943

I found this little treasure while recently cleaning out a drawer in the house.  

Back when I was a little bitty tyke, like age 4 or 5, I found this little treasure on a playground in Jackson. We lived in Jackson during the week for Mama and Daddy to work, and we came home to the farm every weekend.

I vividly remember opening my grubby little hand and showing my little found treasure to them that afternoon. I'm pretty sure they checked with the other parents to see if another little child had lost it. They taught me ethics like that, so I feel sure they practiced those ethics as well.

All I know is that I was allowed to keep this Australian penny, from 1943. It was a special treasure since my name is Penny.

All these years, I have wanted to have this mounted in a finding that will allow me to wear it as a necklace. There is not enough room to thread a chain through the curled lip of the hat. I've tried numerous times.

You can see there are solder marks on the underside of the little hat that hint this may have been soldered to something...a belt buckle?

Is this a real coin for Australia? It would have been a rather large and thick penny. 

I've seen real U.S. penny coins flattened with the imprint of some tourist destination added. People collect those.  I've never seen anything like this little hat.

Please share any information you might have on this type of coin art. Sharing my little "treasure" with you has been a fun mini trip to Memoryville!

Comments

[misty]

Found these for you online

http://www.australiansatwar.gov.au/stories/gallery_view_single_id=763_war=W2.html

http://mintissue.ramint.gov.au/mintissue/product.asp?code=8405500

[Chantelle]

I can see the head and tail of the kangaroo on the underside of the hat... I have about 2 of these old pennies from the 40's, so I believe this was a genuine coin before it was molded into a hat. :)