The 1946 florin occurs in two varieties. The common variety is illustrated below. The 6 in the date is the same as that on the 1956 florin. The second variety has a 6 with a larger circle, like those on the florins of the sixties.

1946 saw a reduction in the silver content of Australian coins. This and subsequent florins were 50% silver, 40% copper, 5% zinc and 5% nickel.

Reverses

	F46M.5D.1 Common variety. Small circle in 6, just like that of the 1956 florin. Alternating thick and thin rim denticles, 76 of each.
	F46M.5D.2 Scarce variety. Large circle in 6. Other than the shape of the 6, the reverse is identical to that of the common variety.

Enlargements of the date

	F46M.5D.1 6 has a small circle. Same 6 as on the 1956 coin.
	F46M.5D.2 6 has a large circle like those on the 196X coins.

I suggest that the 6 on the more common variety is really an inverted 9.

9 punch used as a 6?

To demonstrate the idea, I imaged a 1946 florin. Then I cut out the 9, rotated it to match the original 6 and then pasted the inverted 9 over the original 6. As you can see, there is a strong similarity between the original and pasted-over images. To get the shading right, I actually imaged the florin twice. The second time the florin was inverted. The 9 was cut from the second image, rotated and pasted onto the first.

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