Welcome to the 5th issue of the Australian Coin Internet Magazine. From the feedback I am getting I am glad to say at least some people are reading it and have found the content informative and enjoyable to read.

This month sees the first article by a guest author, that being Mark Doroschenko. I met Mark a few months back. He claims to be relatively new to the hobby but has shown that he knows a little more than he lets on. His first article is his thoughts of the 2003 Masterpieces in Silver. Like all collectors of modern Australian coin issues I went through the mental debate on whether to buy this issue now or wait a few years and see what the secondary market has to offer. I hope Marks thoughts help in that debate.

History shows that the humble penny is one of the most ancient of coins. It has origins back to Roman times. The link occurs where 12 pennies equal one shilling in the same way that 12 Roman denarii equal one Roman solidus. The symbol used for the Roman denarius was d., which happens to be the symbol used for the penny.

Medieval England saw the penny minted in silver. The silver penny was introduced to Medieval England around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia. The origin of the name penny comes from the Old English word pennige (roughly pronounced 'penny-yeah'). It had a deeply indented cross so the coin could be broken in two to form the halfpenny and in quarters to form the farthing. The English silver penny initially contained 1/240th of a Troy pound  i.e. about 1.55 grams of silver. As the purity and weight of the coin was critical, the name of the moneyer who manufactured the coin, and at which mint, often appeared on the reverse side of the coin. From the time of King Offa, the penny was the only denomination of coin minted in England for some five hundred years, until the attempted gold coinage issue of King Henry II, and the later issues of King Edward III.

Although the metal used in the penny changed from silver to copper and finally bronze, England used the penny for some 1200 years until the New Penny took over in 1970. 

Australia used a number of currencies due to coinage shortages during early Australian history. In 1826 the Sterling Silver Money Act was introduced which made British coinage the standard. The British penny was in regular use until shortly after federation. Permission was granted in 1898 for both the Melbourne and Sydney Mints to mint bronze coinage. This would have been a perfect opportunity for the first Australian minted pennies to form part of our coinage. However, because of the Governments focus on federation, no coins were actually minted. In 1909 the newly formed Australian Government passed legislation dictating that 1d. coins were to be minted from bronze or nickel. The coins were to be the same size and weight as their British counterparts.

The first Australian penny came off the production line in 1911, one year after our first silver coins were minted. At the time Sydney, Melbourne and Perth mints were not geared up to mint bronze coinage so our first pennies were minted in London. It was not until 1919 that Australia produced its’ first home grown penny after eight years of production in England and India.

The first penny depicted the new crowned George V on the obverse. The reverse showed two concentric circles, with the words ‘Commonwealth of Australia’ and the year of mintage in the outside circle, and ‘one penny’ with two scrolls in the centre circle. The monarch on the reverse changed with the death of George V and the abdication of Edward VIII, to George VI in 1938. The biggest change also came in conjunction with the George VI effigy in 1938 where the old design was replaced with the kangaroo. 1953 saw the last major change to the penny when the effigy of Elizabeth II replaced George VI.

The rarest of all pennies is the 1937 penny. This goes again most peoples thinking, as most people believe that this honour goes to the 1930 penny. When doing a stock take in the Melbourne museum 10 of these pennies showed up. These coins are kangaroo type coins and are officially classed as pattern issues and appear to have been stuck as trials for the circulating penny changes that occurred in 1938. The value of these coins is well in excess of $100,000 each.

The 1930 penny is undoubtedly the most famous of all Australian coins. This is because the average person had the chance to find this rare coin in their change. It was not until after the introduction of decimal coinage that the value of this rarity was fully realised in sale prices. It is estimated only 3000 made it into circulation. Prices start at around $9000 for these coins. Other rare dates include the 1925 and 1946 coins. The penny has many varieties and even boasts its’ own overdate (that being 1933/2). Hours of fun can be found in a kilo of pennies that can be purchased for as little as $25 as there are hundreds of varieties to be discovered.

The humble penny can lay claim to one death, that being the death of the Sydney mint. In 1920 the Sydney mint reported that in order to continue making the penny more powerful rolling mills and coining press were needed. Although these were forthcoming in 1921, the mint closed 5 years later.

Although this article is relatively brief considering the pennies vast history it does show why the penny is so popular for collectors of Australian coins.

References:

Calgary Coins & Antiques http://calgarycoin.com

McDonald G, Collecting and Investing in Australian Coins and Banknotes, 2nd Ed. (Sydney: 1991).

Myatt B & Hanley T, Australian Coins, Notes and Medals, Castle Books (Melbourne: 1982).

Noble Numismatics http://www.noblenumismatics.com.au

Pitt I, Renniks Australian Coin & Banknote Values, 18th Ed (Sydney: 1998).

Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org

By Mark Doroschenko

I don’t know how many of you reading this have contemplated  the Port Phillip gold patterns.  What was to be a large money making venture by the entrepreneur WJ Taylor turned out to be a complete failure with only a handful of gold token  produced. Most strikes from the 1953 Port Phillip Patterns were in fact trials made from copper and pewter.

The Port Phillip tokens originated at the Kangaroo Office in Melbourne. After the collapse of the Kangaroo office some dies where shipped back to London, the others and the press sold to Thomas stokes in 1857. Thomas Stokes ended up the most prolific token maker of Australia. When the Kangaroo Office was finally dismantled, Taylor ordered the four gold token dies to be dropped in Port Phillip Bay, hence the name Port Phillip Patterns. History tells us that the dies did not make it to the bottom of Port Phillip Bay. The Dies later turned up with Stokes & Sons during a stock take around the time of the first world war and lead replicas were made for the Numismatic Society of Victoria in 1917.

Given that the known examples of the 1853 Port Phillip Patterns fetch premium prices the 2003 Master Pieces in Silver have made it affordable for collectors to own replicas of this piece of Australian history.

The 2003 Master Pieces are are only a step in the right direction as the coins are only made of silver. It would have been nice to see the set in gold as after they were originally made as gold tokens. The big drawing point to these coins is that they are very artistic and very pleasing to the eye. This coupled with a mintage of only 10,000 sets may mean the coins are a fair investment. The set may have had greater demand if it was highlighted by gold plating, but is saying this, it would moved the coins away from tradition Master Pieces in Silver sets. I believe the set, like most other Master Pieces in Silver, may drop in price within 12 months of the mint selling out. This means a bargain could be had in the secondary market in about two years time. I think I will take the gamble and wait till then.

References:

Coinweb http://www.australianstamp.com/Coin-web/

Pitt I, Renniks Australian Coin & Banknote Values, 20th Ed (Sydney: 2003).

Royal Australian Mint http://www.ramint.gov.au/