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Rare coins at the Royal Australian Mint



1852 cracked die Adelaide Pound
Two weeks ago, I had the honour of attending the Royal Australian Mint’s 50th anniversary celebrations of decimal currency. It was a big day, with exhibits, shows, cheap food, costumed mascots, and a factory tour. However, most interesting of all was the display of the National Coin Collection, a group of high-quality, rare, and historically-important coinage. As I don’t often head down to our nation’s capital, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the Mint’s numismatic treasures.

Holey Dollar and Dump

Two Holey Dollars and two Dumps, worth over $150,000 combined.

Adelaide Ingot gold

A restrike of an Adelaide Ingot.

1852 cracked die Adelaide Pound

A restrike of the cracked die Adelaide Pound. A genuine example in UNC is worth close to $500,000.
This example is one-sided so as to distinguish it from the original. It was struck from an original die so would otherwise
be undetectable as a restrike (although its strike is far superior to any original Adelaide Pound I’ve ever seen).

1852 Adelaide Pound

Two one-sided restrikes of the Type II Adelaide Pound.

Adelaide Five Pound

An obverse and reverse restrike of the Adelaide Five Pound. No original Five Pound pieces were minted, although several were restruck for institutions and the public in the early twentieth century.

1856 Sydney Mint sovereign

An original 1856 Sydney Mint Sovereign in what looks to be UNC condition. This would be worth over $100,000 if the reverse were just as good as the obverse.

1920S Gold Sovereign

The famous 1920S Sovereign, of which only five examples are currently known. The signage in the display valued the coin at $300,000, but several examples have recently traded closer to $1 million.

Dies of the proof gold five pound

Dies of the proof gold five pound.

1925 Penny

A 1925 penny that looks to be mint state, worth possibly over $25,000. The 1925 penny is one of the key dates to the penny series.

1930 Penny

The king of Australia’s pre-decimal coin series, the 1930 penny.

1937 Penny

A pattern 1937 penny of which only a handful are known. These trade at over $80,000.

1937 penny dies

Dies of the pattern 1937 penny.

1937 Shilling pattern

A pattern 1937 shilling. Like the penny, only a small handful are known.

1937 Shilling pattern

And another.

1945 Penny proof

A rare 1945 proof penny, minted in Melbourne. Only one example is currently available to collectors. No 1945 pennies were issued in Melbourne that year making this coin extra special.

1959 Silver Penny pattern

A silver 1959 penny, on the right, and a silver pattern obverse on the left. I don’t believe any silver 1959 pennies are available in private hands.

Pattern fifty cent coin

Two obverse patterns for what was, in the 1960s, our new decimal coinage. Although Arnold Machin’s obverse was eventually used on our coinage, English legends were used instead of Latin legends, as in the coin on the right.

Six-sided pattern coin

An heptagonal test coin.

Royal Australian Mint pattern coin

Another test coin, this one made round and of copper.

Royal Australian Mint pattern coin

And another, this test coin in aluminium bronze. 

Pattern pennies

Three early copper one penny coins. The kookaburra design was taken from the pattern square pennies of the 1920s. 

Scalloped ten cent coin

A scalloped ten cent coin. Unlike the rare scalloped twenty cent coin, which was minted by accident and then released into circulation, this scalloped ten cent coin is a rare pattern.

Scalloped ten cent coin

Another ten cent pattern coin with a scalloped inner rim (similar to Fiji’s new fifty cent coins).

Ten cent pattern coin

An heptagonal ten cent pattern coin.

Two cent coin with milling

A two cent piece with edge milling. Normal two cent pieces have a smooth edge.

Bolt stuck on coin

The famous bolt struck on a proof twenty cent.

Welcome Stranger gold nugget

A replica of the Welcome Stranger gold nugget.

Related links:

English coins at Tower Hill

Popular PCGS and NGC-graded Coins