This is the first of a hopefully long line of articles about Australian Coins. I hope to make this grow into an internet magazine anyone can to can contribute to. I encourage you all that have information to share to pass it on so it can be published.
I have been fascinated by Australian coins since I was a kid. Some would argue that at 33 I am still a kid. I remember when my Grandfather gave me my first penny in 1976 and I tried to spend it on lollies. I cried when the shop keeper would not take it. I inherited my Grandfathers pre decimal collection and I still have it today.
Since a young age I wanted to find out more about Aussie coins. No offence to the magazines out there but I find that in a 60 odd page magazine there is often only 5 or 6 pages of real information about Australian coins. This can be disappointing especially at $7.00 or so.
I have found little current information about Aussie coins. Renniks and Greg McDonald are probably the leaders in the field, producing a publication every year. I find these publications useful in finding out the value of my collection and to see it has grown in value. The best publications I have found however are old books I have collected from second hand book stores. The best I found was a signed copy of the 2nd edition of Greg McDonald’s “Collecting and Investing in Australian Coins and Bank Notes.” I picked this up for $6.00. I actually can not wait to see his new book he is writing. He has promised it to the world for about 3 years now!!!
Like most of you who have found this site, I have searched the web for sites that deal with Australian coins. It has been good to see that over the last year or so there have been a few sites set up that deal with Australian numismatics. Many of these specialise in variety collecting. Even the Royal Australian Mint web site has developed its forum and is now widely used.
Let this site be a depository of information the world can share. Again I encourage you to pass information on to me. Do not be afraid to contribute. I am happy to publish articles that you write.
My first recollection of coins was from my Grandfather. Even though the first penny I owned was a 1914 coin of little value I thought because it was old it was valuable and that I was rich. The coin did make me rich…but not in a monetary sense. When I got this coin I eagerly went to the library to find a book on Australian coins to try and value it. As a kid I saw that pennies could fetch $9000 (ignoring the fact that it was only for the 1930 penny which can now fetch $20000 plus).
The 1930 penny is arguably the most sort after Australian coin. It is also the rarest of all Australian coins. It is not known how many 1930 pennies were circulated but it is estimated there was only 3000 coins circulated, of these only about 1500 can be accounted for. There are only 6 known proofs. One is held in the British museum in London, one is held in the Science Museum of Victoria, one is held in the Art Gallery of South Australia, and the other 3 are held by private collectors. The last sale of a proof coin was to a private collector in 1997 for $126000.[1]
Many rumours exist about the origin of the 1930 penny. According to an article
by Bill Mullett published in the 1996, the now famous 1930 penny was the result
of experimental work undertaken to produce better pennies for the 1930s. No
pennies were ordered by the Treasury for 1930. The 1931 order did not specify a
date to appear on the coins and so the good coins from the 1930 experimental
work were available for distribution with the 1931 mi
nt
issue.[2]
Tour guides of the Royal Australian Mint say that the 1930 penny was not officially circulated and that it was “given away” in exchange for old pennies as a memento of ones visit to the mint. Some people contend that it can not be classed as an “official” Australian coin as it was never officially circulated. The mystery of this coin has undoubtedly forced the price up.
Most of the 1930 pennies produced were made from the Calcutta obverse die (178 rim denticles). There are reports of a few being made with the London die (177 rim denticles) however. The reverse of the coin was produced with the London die (174 rim denticles).