NICKEL PENNIES SHORTLY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1681, 22 February 1913, Page 7

NICKEL PENNIES SHORTLY.

Nickel coinage is filiortlj to.be introduced by tho .Australian Federal Government. lor a long time this 6iep has been Under consideration. The secretary of th« Federal Treasury; Mr. Alien; stated on February 12 that tljo Department had written to the Imperial Governrii'ent asking that designs of the liew hibkel coins Should, be made at the Mint. Tie Federal Goyernibeiit desired to .have a iniokel penny about the.size of the p.'esent shilling, aiid a halfpenny no larger than a sixpence, in order tnat confusion may not arise. .The edges of tho nickel coins will bo scalloped like tho anna of India. Unless somo better design is Submitted) it is probablo .that tho present penny and halfpenny will romain in ■ nickel, tho only change, beihj tho 'icalloped edge. This is the coin with tho King's head on the obverse side, nikl tho plain "one penny" or "one, halfpenny" on tho reverse. When the designs hate been approved'by tho King and by the C-ommon-Svcalth Government, large quantities of tho coin will be struck off at tho Koyal Mint, Londdn. Tho.cnief advantage of tho nickel'coins is their lightness, and, although containing 75 per eent. of copper and only 25 per cent, of nickel, they are white in colour: like the silver coins, it is not likely that tho new coinage will be in use in Australia for some months.