Welcome to a new year for this magazine. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and that all reader get another year of enjoyment out of collecting Australian Coins.

This months major article continues the series of articles on predecimal coins. The origin of the shilling can be traced back to 1548 when Edward VI ordered the minting of  the first shilling issued in Britain. It came out with a value of 12 pence and was 1/12th of a pound. Although officially this was the first shilling, the testoon issued in 1487 by Henry VII was arguably the first shilling as it was also 1/12th of a pound.

The name shilling is believed to come from old Scandinavian skilling, meaning a mark on a stick. The mark of the shilling was given early in its' history, that being the Roman Solidus or "S". Over time the "S" became a "/" as a matter of convenience. This mark was later extended to mark the division between pounds, shillings and pence when stating a value.

The shilling continued to be made in Britain till 1966, although proofs were still made till 1970. The coin was revalued to 5 new pence upon decimalization and is still considered legal tender in Britain.

Australia produced its' first shilling in 1910. The coin followed the pattern of other early Australian coins ie the king on the obverse and the Australian Coat of Arms on the reverse. It was not till 1916 that Australia actually started producing the coin, with previous shillings being produced in London, with 1915 issued also being produced at Heaton. All releases from then on were done in Australia till decimalization, except when minting of shillings went offshore between 1942 and 1944 when the San Francisco mint helped with production. The 1946 issue also holds some importance in that it was the only time silver coins were struck at the Perth mint. 

In 1921 the coins were produced with a star above the date to signify a drop in silver content. The drop did not occur however till 1946 so the star was dropped the following year. The only major design change beside the monarch changes was in 1938 when the rams head replaced the coat of arms. This change continued through to decimalization.

The shilling series hold two interesting coins. The first is the 1925/3 overdate. This is interesting as there were no shillings minted in 1923. The second interesting date is the 1945 shilling. Officially no shillings were issued in 1945. It was believed that coins were minted and later melted down as there was no need for an issue. John Sharples, the numinastics curator at the Museum of Victoria, while doing a stock take found the only three known example of this coin.

The shilling series, like most series of Australian coins, is relatively easy to obtain in low grades. The only coin that would be considered hard would be the 1933 issue. High grade sets start to become pricey, more so that lesser denomination coins of the era. Although I do strive to collect a high grade set, like a lot of collectors I know, the shilling series for some reason is not high on my list. It is probably not as desirable as other series at it does not have the prestige of say the florin or the comparatively lower cost of other silver series. I have also heard some collectors say that the rams head coins are not that attractive or appealing, a view I know some collectors will dispute. This series is however a series a true Australian collector should want, if not for the want of a complete set of Australian coins or for serious investment purposes.

References

Coins of England and Great Britain  http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/onesh.html

Guy Clarke Ancient Coins http://www.ancient-art.com/medieval.htm

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).

Robert G Lilley Ancient and Medieval Coins http://www.newwave.net/~lilcoins

Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org

December saw the launch of the women's suffrage $1 coin. The coin is a celebration of the 100 year anniversary of women's right to vote. The coin should be in general circulation during the early part of 2004. As a collector I have not had much cause to criticize the mint but this is one situation that I just have to. This coin is a general circulation coin only. That means for the collector that a coin can not be purchased on a "card". The mint will not even sell a mint bag of coins. The coin will only be available through normal circulation. This means it may be difficult to obtain a coin in pristine condition. This release has seen the mint ignore the wishes of collectors to have the coin made available for purchase. This is often the only way some collectors can get coins in true uncirculated condition at a reasonable price. I can understand a commemorative coin being released into general circulation but collectors have different wishes to the general population in that the general population does not care what condition a coin is in...a collector does!!!