Some great additions from everyone last month, I look forward to seeing more during the month of April!
Yes, this coin was technically purchased toward the end of March, but I have only gotten around to sharing this one now.
Great Britain — 1827 George IV Penny
This is a coin I already own, but believe it or not, this is actually the better of the two in terms of condition!
1827 is a key date in the British penny series, primarily due to its low survival rate. The entirety of the mintage was minted for, and shipped to the colony of Van Diemen’s Land for circulation. (Renamed Tasmania in 1856). These coins were shipped in wooden crates from England to Australia, with the majority of the mintage becoming badly corroded by seawater. In fact, there are only two examples of this year known in mint state. This example was also victim to corrosion on its journey, with pitting and corrosion evident - especially on the obverse.
Subsequently, anything above VG for this date is incredibly scarce, and any problem-free examples are very rare and virtually unseen.
Interesting bit of numismtic history, IM94. Assuming the ship made it to port (i.e. it wasn't wrecked) is there any reason why so much corrosion was caused by seawater? The sea must have been rough! Other overseas colonies also obtained copper coins occasionally without this type of corrosion.
It must have been quite expensive to obtain any copper coinage for such a distant colony.
Here are two additions of my own to start this month:
This is a brand new book by the foremost author in the field of Canadian colonial currency. I'm showing just one of the three and a half pages of the Table of Contents.
This month I got a weird one. A bamboo-cloth banknote from the Second Bank of Chaishanzhou Special District, one of the first revolutionary base areas. Due to the fact that it lacks the red seals, it's most likely a trial strike that did not enter circulation. Printed (?) in 1927.
Same coin in all these pictures, I just wanted to make sure the rainbow toning came through in a couple of them.
This is the first of them that I got, this is the one I mentioned last month that had the die cracks on the obverse of it. Not the greatest shape coin in my collection, but a very pretty one nonetheless
This month I got a weird one. A bamboo-cloth banknote from the Second Bank of Chaishanzhou Special District, one of the first revolutionary base areas. Due to the fact that it lacks the red seals, it's most likely a trial strike that did not enter circulation. Printed (?) in 1927.
Happy collecting everyone!
This is pretty neat! I’ve never seen one like this
Super cool to see and learn some info about, I’d be happy to own one myself. Super unique addition to a collection
I myself was looking at something a little different the other day. Maybe I’ll snag it, maybe I won’t. We shall see
This month I got a weird one. A bamboo-cloth banknote from the Second Bank of Chaishanzhou Special District, one of the first revolutionary base areas. Due to the fact that it lacks the red seals, it's most likely a trial strike that did not enter circulation. Printed (?) in 1927.
Happy collecting everyone!
This is pretty neat! I’ve never seen one like this
Super cool to see and learn some info about, I’d be happy to own one myself. Super unique addition to a collection
I myself was looking at something a little different the other day. Maybe I’ll snag it, maybe I won’t. We shall see
I wonder what you were looking at!
You see, I (kind of) bought this banknote for further research purposes. The only sources that address anything regarding this banknotes are very scarce and only in Chinese, also very hard to translate. And, well, I thought that this was kind of annoying. So, I did my own research, own translations and own photos of and about this banknote. I'm currently writing an essay about it, finished the 10th page today.
Another slow month. I have bought things, but our mail is beyond slow now. It seems one dealer likes to send things by economy parcel (3 - 5 business days) rather than express (1 - 2 days) just to save a single dollar!
Again i bought these coins, but have not received them yet and will do some proper photos, great coins, just awful photos. This guy loves to aim the camera at like a 30 degree angle to get these “artistic” oblique photos and stretching them brings traumatic results (1696 one).
Spent a bit to get the British CROWN collection back before the 1818 Recoinage Pistrucci ones. I managed to add 4 coins from a much nicer and earlier period of them. These are expensive and even the worn nasty ones cost well into 3 figures.
A true first year 1662 milled crown coin, the first year of “official” and permanent milled coins (The Briot and Mestrelle coins were one offs and experiments). The Obverse is pretty nice with usual central wear (People thumbed these 40mm pieces) and what looks like a badly cleaned and wiped reverse. Still its year one of milled crowns and we have a rose on it too. I have seen far worse.
Just one photo here of a very worn 1666 Crown, yes the year of the Great Fire and I suspect someone threw this coin into it. Only Very Good, but A+ for historicity and truly historic. Carrying one of these babies around in 1666 was like carrying a $100 note.
The star of the group, a very nice 1696 coin of William III, its easy to confuse him with Charlie boy, - but notice no moustache, bigger nose and the C's are gone. Still the hilarious late 1600s hippy fright wigs make things confusing. This coin grades near VF and is the most affordable 17th century crown in this shape. It will be the finest 17the century coin I own when it finally arrives.
1707 E Queen Anne Crown - also nice and the only let down is the graffiti carved on the reverse. Its hard to tell how old it is. This is a Post Union coin of Great Britain, but struck at the Edinburgh Mint, where Scottish coins had been minted. Again another wonderful piece and my first 18th century crown of any description (My Spanish Dollar is 1801, so thus 19th century).
Still its not your standard Georgian coin, as its pre Georgian and as a heads up - Georgian crowns before 1797 are very very very expensive.
Still a great instant collection for me, the Stuart and Restoration Crown issue is solved!
PS - Anyone seen that Donald Duck Trump's tariffs have seen the gold price cool off and the silver price take a real dive!
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Interesting bit of numismtic history, IM94. Assuming the ship made it to port (i.e. it wasn't wrecked) is there any reason why so much corrosion was caused by seawater? The sea must have been rough! Other overseas colonies also obtained copper coins occasionally without this type of corrosion.
It must have been quite expensive to obtain any copper coinage for such a distant colony.
Here are two additions of my own to start this month:
This is a brand new book by the foremost author in the field of Canadian colonial currency. I'm showing just one of the three and a half pages of the Table of Contents.
Thank you, and you are correct - the ship did make it to port, although from what I've heard, only barely! All of the coins were stored in wooden crates, and I think once seawater got in, the coins sat submerged for practically the entire journey.
It most definitely would have been expensive, this is the only instance of a shipment of coins occurring from Britain to the Australian colonies on such a large scale during this time I can think of!
That book looks like a great addition and very comprehensive! It must cover a lot of information with 3&½ pages of the table of contents!
Just a quick hello & to compliment everyone's stuff (and all the stuff in March too. Didn't do much typing but I did enjoy reading everyone's comments and of course, the pics).
I've been having a bit of a field day with buying stuff. Went a bit nuts at a car boot but it was just so cheap. I was buying British-ish (Isle of Man, Falklands etc) issues, including some commemoratives, at near face value (After a little haggling 😉). £1 face value costing about £1.17, who could resist? I suspect a few of them are the “Collector” crap but hey ho, didn't have time to really pick my way through. I'll try write when I get some time to properly sit down.
Have also got some exciting notes (to me) to share. 🙂
Financial year end is such a pain in the backside. Suppose it keeps me in a job & pays for my coin & banknote habit. Think having a drug or alcohol problem would be cheaper sometimes.. 🤔
Anyway, fantastic to see everything so far from the early medieval to the 2025 US pennies!
Interesting bit of numismtic history, IM94. Assuming the ship made it to port (i.e. it wasn't wrecked) is there any reason why so much corrosion was caused by seawater? The sea must have been rough! Other overseas colonies also obtained copper coins occasionally without this type of corrosion.
It must have been quite expensive to obtain any copper coinage for such a distant colony.
Thank you, and you are correct — the ship did make it to port, although from what I've heard, only barely! All of the coins were stored in wooden crates, and I think once seawater got in, the coins sat submerged for practically the entire journey.
It most definitely would have been expensive, this is the only instance of a shipment of coins occurring from Britain to the Australian colonies on such a large scale during this time I can think of!
Because of my interest in Caribbean colonial coppers, I tried to find out what kind of historical evidence there is online for your part of the world, starting with this particular shipment of currency. I found out that the crates came aboard the frigate Success. Here's an interesting article by a great amateur historian of the early 1900s, A. T. Saunders: Frigate Success, The Register, Nov. 21st 1925. Unfortunately, his reference to his earlier column in the same newspaper about the Admiralty's log books seems to be inaccurate. I also found this Sterling & Currency page on the 1827 penny (authored by Andrew Crellin) with further reference to this issue of the MHA Journal (pp. 8–12).
The Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser doesn't seem to record the arrival of the Success at Hobart in the early months of 1827 — nor its departure.
Note this paragraph on the Sterling & Currency page:
Tasmania via the British West Indies?
I’ve personally discussed the coin with David Rider — a very experienced expatriate British dealer now residing in South East QLD — although David believes that the entire mintage of the 1827 penny may well have been sent to Australia, he believed that they may have circulated in the British West Indies (BWI) prior to doing so.
According to David (and I hope I'm being accurate with his account), the coins were shipped to the BWI, they circulated there for a period of time, and were then shipped to Tasmania. This explains the coins being mostly seen in heavily worn condition, as well as being corroded.
This is rather unhelpful if Rider only “believes” so. I have serious doubt that any copper coinage would have been systematically withdrawn to be sent to another colony. On top of it, since this is a coin with a low face value, how would you expect that the near totality could be withdrawn from local circulation?? This seems most unprobable. Rider is troubled by the heavy corrosion and, it seems to me, he makes up a story to account for it (if reported accurately by Crellin). This is not how you write history.
A better hypothesis based on what I've read online is that the ship seems to have carried this load of coins for quite some time even once it reached the Australian colonies. If salt got in soon after departure from the Motherland, then we're talking about 2 or 3 months of corrosion, though I'm still surprised that so much corrosion could occur.
The only good reasons I know to withdraw copper legal tender is when it is defaced or else when the currency system is reformed. In the Caribbeans, the Crown wasn't too happy that the colonists preferred decimal (dollars and cents) over sterling, but they eventually got all colonies on sterling. I don't think the Brtitsh authorities ever withdrew a sterling currency to introduce a decimal currency in its place.
This suggests only specie was being delivered to the home of the Van Diemen's Land devil 😁, and not much else if anything. I know there was at least silver and copper; not sure about gold. Note that Success was an “H.M.” ship so the specie was probably officially exported–imported by the Crown–local authorities. On p. 133 it says the Success departed on January 31st.
tend to mainly be proofs, and the years that aren’t have for the most part extremely low mintages. Guess there’s no way to find out tho, as the date on mine has been completely worn down and there’s no real physical difference in the coins to tell
If there was I wouldn’t be able to tell anyways, seeing as how slick mine is
tend to mainly be proofs, and the years that aren’t have for the most part extremely low mintages. Guess there’s no way to find out tho, as the date on mine has been completely worn down and there’s no real physical difference in the coins to tell
If there was I wouldn’t be able to tell anyways, seeing as how slick mine is
Oh well!
I agree, what survives of the lettering is the larger and more slender letters of 1874 - 1887 coins like this
Where as the lettering in the earlier 1839 - 1850 (1853, 62, 64 were one off proofs), is flatter and chunkier and more old fashioned looking.
I agree that these coins are hard to get not worn heavily, but dateless ones like yours, you should not pay over melt for. The earlier type are not all rare. The dates 1844, 45, 46 are easy to get and the dates 1842, 49, and 50 are a bit more effort, 1840, 43, and 48 are hard, but not undoable, only 1839 and 1841 are really superhard.
I myself have 1842, 44, 45, 46, 49 and 50, and also every date of the 1874 - 1887 series.
And the reason none were issued for circulation between 1851 and 1873, was the release of the Florin and the mint really wanted to push that over these coins. Also as many iliterate and poor may confuse the 2 coins. But by 1874 so many people missed the Halfcrown, it was bought back and they realised the gothic design on the florins was very different to the more “classical” look of the halfcrowns.
Finally with the last crown issued back in 1847 and none until 1887, they realised there was nothing between the florin (2/-) and the half sovereign (10/-) and there were not enough to go around.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Interesting bit of numismtic history, IM94. Assuming the ship made it to port (i.e. it wasn't wrecked) is there any reason why so much corrosion was caused by seawater? The sea must have been rough! Other overseas colonies also obtained copper coins occasionally without this type of corrosion.
It must have been quite expensive to obtain any copper coinage for such a distant colony.
Thank you, and you are correct — the ship did make it to port, although from what I've heard, only barely! All of the coins were stored in wooden crates, and I think once seawater got in, the coins sat submerged for practically the entire journey.
It most definitely would have been expensive, this is the only instance of a shipment of coins occurring from Britain to the Australian colonies on such a large scale during this time I can think of!
Because of my interest in Caribbean colonial coppers, I tried to find out what kind of historical evidence there is online for your part of the world, starting with this particular shipment of currency. I found out that the crates came aboard the frigate Success. Here's an interesting article by a great amateur historian of the early 1900s, A. T. Saunders: Frigate Success, The Register, Nov. 21st 1925. Unfortunately, his reference to his earlier column in the same newspaper about the Admiralty's log books seems to be inaccurate. I also found this Sterling & Currency page on the 1827 penny (authored by Andrew Crellin) with further reference to this issue of the MHA Journal (pp. 8–12).
The Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser doesn't seem to record the arrival of the Success at Hobart in the early months of 1827 — nor its departure.
Note this paragraph on the Sterling & Currency page:
Tasmania via the British West Indies?
I’ve personally discussed the coin with David Rider — a very experienced expatriate British dealer now residing in South East QLD — although David believes that the entire mintage of the 1827 penny may well have been sent to Australia, he believed that they may have circulated in the British West Indies (BWI) prior to doing so.
According to David (and I hope I'm being accurate with his account), the coins were shipped to the BWI, they circulated there for a period of time, and were then shipped to Tasmania. This explains the coins being mostly seen in heavily worn condition, as well as being corroded.
This is rather unhelpful if Rider only “believes” so. I have serious doubt that any copper coinage would have been systematically withdrawn to be sent to another colony. On top of it, since this is a coin with a low face value, how would you expect that the near totality could be withdrawn from local circulation?? This seems most unprobable. Rider is troubled by the heavy corrosion and, it seems to me, he makes up a story to account for it (if reported accurately by Crellin). This is not how you write history.
A better hypothesis based on what I've read online is that the ship seems to have carried this load of coins for quite some time even once it reached the Australian colonies. If salt got in soon after departure from the Motherland, then we're talking about 2 or 3 months of corrosion, though I'm still surprised that so much corrosion could occur.
The only good reasons I know to withdraw copper legal tender is when it is defaced or else when the currency system is reformed. In the Caribbeans, the Crown wasn't too happy that the colonists preferred decimal (dollars and cents) over sterling, but they eventually got all colonies on sterling. I don't think the Brtitsh authorities ever withdrew a sterling currency to introduce a decimal currency in its place.
This suggests only specie was being delivered to the home of the Van Diemen's Land devil 😁, and not much else if anything. I know there was at least silver and copper; not sure about gold. Note that Success was an “H.M.” ship so the specie was probably officially exported–imported by the Crown–local authorities. On p. 133 it says the Success departed on January 31st.
That is all very interesting, thank you for all of the information!
I did actually see that article from Sterling & Currency a week-or-so ago, I agree that it is incredibly unlikely that the entirety of the mintage of 1827 pennies was withdrawn to be sent to the Australian colonies. This would be almost impossible to coordinate and there does not seem to have any evidence of this occurring. Unless there have been examples of these coins found (i.e. Dug out of the ground) in the BWI, it seems unlikely they would have circulated there.
That would make much more sense that the coins were carried on the ship for months prior to reaching Australia, and would explain the severity of the corrosion a bit more. It is strange that as you said, other colonies obtained coins without corrosion as significant as on the 1827 pennies.
I had a couple more coins delivered in the mail yesterday, so I will start to photograph and post these over the next few days or weeks.
tend to mainly be proofs, and the years that aren’t have for the most part extremely low mintages. Guess there’s no way to find out tho, as the date on mine has been completely worn down and there’s no real physical difference in the coins to tell
If there was I wouldn’t be able to tell anyways, seeing as how slick mine is
Oh well!
I agree, what survives of the lettering is the larger and more slender letters of 1874 - 1887 coins like this
Where as the lettering in the earlier 1839 - 1850 (1853, 62, 64 were one off proofs), is flatter and chunkier and more old fashioned looking.
I agree that these coins are hard to get not worn heavily, but dateless ones like yours, you should not pay over melt for. The earlier type are not all rare. The dates 1844, 45, 46 are easy to get and the dates 1842, 49, and 50 are a bit more effort, 1840, 43, and 48 are hard, but not undoable, only 1839 and 1841 are really superhard.
I myself have 1842, 44, 45, 46, 49 and 50, and also every date of the 1874 - 1887 series.
And the reason none were issued for circulation between 1851 and 1873, was the release of the Florin and the mint really wanted to push that over these coins. Also as many iliterate and poor may confuse the 2 coins. But by 1874 so many people missed the Halfcrown, it was bought back and they realised the gothic design on the florins was very different to the more “classical” look of the halfcrowns.
Finally with the last crown issued back in 1847 and none until 1887, they realised there was nothing between the florin (2/-) and the half sovereign (10/-) and there were not enough to go around.
Lots of info there! Thank you a bunch, I learned a fair bit
Yeah I thought I noticed that the lettering looked different, but I wasn’t sure. Awesome to know I got the date range down and properly identified it!
Got some Guernsey doubles at the top, Ascension Island, Falkland Islands, and then a bunch of stuff - another Guernsey (Non-circulating), a Bermuda decimal coinage pack, and a load of Isle of Man £2. 9 different TT races on the right, 3 x Xmas, a few other odd ones, and my favourite Thorwald's Cross (bottom-right). Also a Gibraltar £5 note. I did already have the note, but it's an upgrade.
Top is my original note which I actually got in my change on my visit to Gibraltar like 15 years ago. My first British-ish note and I do like the design, so been watching for an affordable upgrade. Difference can really been seen on the Queen side with the colouring, wrinkles, and of course the handwritten bit. So really happy with that.
More banknotes:
Two Royal Bank of Scotland notes above. You might think they're the same note, but the one above is older & had to be signed out by a cashier. You can make out their signature in pencil which is pretty cool.
Then a British Linen bank note who were acquired by RBS at some point (I did research the dates but can't be bothered to get my work out…). My first “extinct” bank banknote. Caused no end of confusion as I couldn't decide whether to put it behind the acquiring bank, or have a whole new area.
Next an RBS £100 note which is the highest denomination issued (The Bank of England only goes up to £50, but most of the other issuing banks do £100). Superb condition, and only the second £100 in my collection.
If you want an idea of size, here it is with a modern circulation £5:
So a giant of a note!
An old Ulster bank (single-sided) & a Clydesdale. Again, note the handwritten signatures. The issue date line on my Clydesdale was also unknown to Numista so got the fun of adding that. 🙂
And finally, a piece I'm truly delighted with. (If you've been playing the “Guess from a microscope” thread, you've seen it already).
Guernsey £10 note. Despite the design, it was a whole new look created in 1975! That front with Britannia on looks much more 1930s-1940s, especially when you see the other notes I above which are from that era.
So that's my lot for now. Good haul of Overseas Territory coins, a few Crown Dependency ones, bunch of Scottish (plus an Northern Irish & Gibraltian) banknotes, and a delightful Guernsey note too.
Can't wait to see what you have in those packages! Looks like a pretty solid haul just from that!
Here is coin number 1 from this week’s mail delivery:
Australia 1915L KGV Florin
This year is a key date in the Australian florin series (as are the majority of the years from 1911-1915), only behind the 1932 and 1934/5 commemorative which had mintages of 188k and 54k respectively. Australian silver coins were minted in Britain up until 1915, when the Melbourne Mint branch of the Royal Mint officially started striking silver coins in 1916. (Gold sovereigns had been produced in Melbourne for decades prior).
1915 florins were minted at both London and Birmingham, with this one being from the former. This coin is in average or slightly above condition. It is not uncommon for these early KGV florins to be worn practically flat.
I forgot to say Moneytane - those crowns are absolutely incredible, especially that 1696 one! I don’t own any silver British coins from that era, so it is incredibly interesting to see your ones!
Yeah thanks about those crowns - I just love them, they are just so old and usually cost $1000s each for high grade (EF/AU) ones VG ones are much cheaper and the occasional fine one.
I got one more, it was very worn (Good) but to my delight, it has evidence of a double die/double strike. The letters FRA ET HIB have clear evidence of a double strike, same with DEI on the other side. Being worn and cleaned, this one barely cost three figures.
The coin is 1676, 3rd bust with Vicesimo Octavo on the edge (Year 28). They counted his reign from the death of his father (1649) and each year was in the year - so 1649 was Year one and so on. In reality Charles was only called back in 1660 and not crowned until May 1661.
They are massive pieces, even next to halfcrowns, they are huge and were like a $100 note back then.
IM94 - Agree about those 1914/15 florins, both of my Londons are VG (Which is not much better than yours and as good as you can get before really stretching the wallet wide open). But by 1914H and 1915H are better fine coins that cost in the $100 level.
A collector - nice group of notes, especially the old Scottish ones and that stunning £100 with Lord Ilay and his hilarious c.1700 wigg. I have a weakness for the colour red too. Hence my love affair with $100 notes here.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Yeah thanks about those crowns - I just love them, they are just so old and usually cost $1000s each for high grade (EF/AU) ones VG ones are much cheaper and the occasional fine one.
I got one more, it was very worn (Good) but to my delight, it has evidence of a double die/double strike. The letters FRA ET HIB have clear evidence of a double strike, same with DEI on the other side. Being worn and cleaned, this one barely cost three figures.
The coin is 1676, 3rd bust with Vicesimo Octavo on the edge (Year 28). They counted his reign from the death of his father (1649) and each year was in the year - so 1649 was Year one and so on. In reality Charles was only called back in 1660 and not crowned until May 1661.
They are massive pieces, even next to halfcrowns, they are huge and were like a $100 note back then.
IM94 - Agree about those 1914/15 florins, both of my Londons are VG (Which is not much better than yours and as good as you can get before really stretching the wallet wide open). But by 1914H and 1915H are better fine coins that cost in the $100 level.
A collector - nice group of notes, especially the old Scottish ones and that stunning £100 with Lord Ilay and his hilarious c.1700 wigg. I have a weakness for the colour red too. Hence my love affair with $100 notes here.
That double-strike is as clear as day! I didn’t even need to click on the image to see it better to notice it. Are there any ‘key dates’ for crowns of this period, or are they are pretty equal in terms of rarity?
Here is one more of my recent additions:
Fiji 1941 KGVI Florin
Another silver florin coin from the London Royal Mint, this time from Fiji. Fijian florins from 1941 had a mintage of just 20,000 pieces. It is a bit of a shame that coins like these are often overshadowed by coins from larger nations such as Australia, the US and Britain, but it does make it a lot easier to obtain these coins from smaller nations like Fiji - due to them not having this same popularity and hype. A coin with a similar mintage from this time would easily sell for three-figures minimum in this condition if it were an Australian one.
This one was described as VF by the seller, but it has definitely been cleaned and is probably not quite VF. This is my first Fijian coin (apart from modern Fijian coins from when I visited), so I am quite pleased with this one!
The Fijian florins are quite a small series, only being produced from 1934-1943, and again in Cupronickel with the Queen’s effigy in 1957-1965.
Aaaand, it appears I forgot to take a front-on photo of the obverse!
Yeah thanks about those crowns - I just love them, they are just so old and usually cost $1000s each for high grade (EF/AU) ones VG ones are much cheaper and the occasional fine one.
I got one more, it was very worn (Good) but to my delight, it has evidence of a double die/double strike. The letters FRA ET HIB have clear evidence of a double strike, same with DEI on the other side. Being worn and cleaned, this one barely cost three figures.
The coin is 1676, 3rd bust with Vicesimo Octavo on the edge (Year 28). They counted his reign from the death of his father (1649) and each year was in the year - so 1649 was Year one and so on. In reality Charles was only called back in 1660 and not crowned until May 1661.
They are massive pieces, even next to halfcrowns, they are huge and were like a $100 note back then.
That double-strike is as clear as day! I didn’t even need to click on the image to see it better to notice it. Are there any ‘key dates’ for crowns of this period, or are they are pretty equal in terms of rarity?
Not really, all of them go for around $250 - $300 in fine, $1 - 3k in VF, and $10k+ in EF. G - VG ones around $100 - $200 as they are all scarce and 300 year old 30 gram silver coins.
James II a lot rarer and same with George I and II. Anne and William III are same as Charles. William and Mary's are beautiful as well, but also fairly expensive. However you can get lucky. I doubt more than 50,000 or 100,000 were minted each year and less than 1% survive as they were melted down and recoined.
For Charles II, any coin dated 1665 is better ($1500 for Fine) and any that have an elephant under the bust (Signifying the metal is from West Africa). Any Charles II crown is good. However like most old coins fakes exist.
Money is in mistakes too, coins that miss dots after words and words with wrong letters on them, with overdate varieties abound and this can be blamed on the relative earliness of the technology.
1662 Dated Crowns have numerous varieties, mine is a common one with a rose under bust (English mined rather than melted down silver), a rarer one is one with the II at the top of the coin and also very rare 1663 Petition crowns etc.
I am too tired to type another epistle, best book is Maurice Bull's English Silver coinage since 1649 5th edition and any recent Spink British coin catalogue.
I collect Fiji too - here's my 41 Florin - a contrast in rareness next to the common American coins of 1942/43
Mine is a gEF with some natural lustre.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
This month I got a weird one. A bamboo-cloth banknote from the Second Bank of Chaishanzhou Special District, one of the first revolutionary base areas. Due to the fact that it lacks the red seals, it's most likely a trial strike that did not enter circulation. Printed (?) in 1927.
Happy collecting everyone!
Stellar item! I've never seen something like that before, what a fascinating banknote! I love the revolutionary stuff.
I hope to acquire one one day in pretty good shape
That one is pretty nice, much better than your halfcrown - part of the big attempt between 1887 and 1900 to bring back the crown as a major denomination and a bridge between half crown and half sovereign gold coins.
It was just they were too chunky and wrecked pockets. Unless you were rich, 1800s clothes were often cotton or flimsy linen and could not hold thick coins. Purses were relatively new as well and coins ended up in pockets. A crown was often a coin used as payment for a days work and meant a lot if lost. Numbers minted apart from the honeymoon years of 1887 - 1890 were never more than a few hundred thousand per year compared to several million half crowns, florins and even the gold coins were in the millions too.
I only have a few of the 1887 - 1900 coins, but all of the 1818- 1822 series and 1844 - 47 crowns. There was also another crown in 1902 for Edward VII, but this was a one off and crowns were only issued intermittently afterwards, the next vaguely common one was in 1935 and again a one off (The wreath crowns were just a few thousand each and rare).
Of my 1818 - 1822 all of mine are worn below VG/Fine except one - my 1818 which is almost EF and I got it cheap ($300 or so).
The motto is in a garter belt and Pistrucci is written under the design. These disappeared in 1821.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
That’s so funny, I was looking at a 1941 Fiji Florin literally last night before I went to bed. Is this a sign for me to get one?
I think so
It must be a sign. Do it!!!
Awesome Victorian crown, the St. George and the Dragon design on the reverse has been used for literally centuries in one way or another, and is even used on some modern-day sovereign designs such as here:
You are certainly building up a very impressive collection!
Moneytane
Not really, all of them go for around $250 - $300 in fine, $1 - 3k in VF, and $10k+ in EF. G - VG ones around $100 - $200 as they are all scarce and 300 year old 30 gram silver coins.
James II a lot rarer and same with George I and II. Anne and William III are same as Charles. William and Mary's are beautiful as well, but also fairly expensive. However you can get lucky. I doubt more than 50,000 or 100,000 were minted each year and less than 1% survive as they were melted down and recoined.
For Charles II, any coin dated 1665 is better ($1500 for Fine) and any that have an elephant under the bust (Signifying the metal is from West Africa). Any Charles II crown is good. However like most old coins fakes exist.
Money is in mistakes too, coins that miss dots after words and words with wrong letters on them, with overdate varieties abound and this can be blamed on the relative earliness of the technology.
1662 Dated Crowns have numerous varieties, mine is a common one with a rose under bust (English mined rather than melted down silver), a rarer one is one with the II at the top of the coin and also very rare 1663 Petition crowns etc.
I am too tired to type another epistle, best book is Maurice Bull's English Silver coinage since 1649 5th edition and any recent Spink British coin catalogue.
I collect Fiji too - here's my 41 Florin - a contrast in rareness next to the common American coins of 1942/43
Mine is a gEF with some natural lustre.
That’s good to know, thanks for the information. I definitely want to get a crown from this era at some point down the track, although it will only be around the G-VG mark based on those approximate values you gave. As you said, the survival rate on them would be incredibly low, and any example is scarce, so I’m not really too fussed on condition.
I actually thought of your 1941 Florin above that is set as your profile picture when I purchased my one.
This one is nothing too fancy — one of over 5.2 million Melbourne-minted Australian shillings from the year 1917. Obviously quite worn and has been cleaned at some point, but I purchased it for a grand total of $AU5.95 on eBay, inclusive of shipment fees. This is a couple of dollars under the current melt price.
I actually thought of your 1941 Florin above that is set as your profile picture when I purchased my one.
OMG! I forgot about that avatar. I am due some new glasses and are slowly but surely going blind.
Any silver under melt price is totally worth it. I got lucky with my Aussie shillings, buying a whole set for $500 off some guy back in 2020 when I started collecting again seriously. It actually had 2 x 1917 and both were high fine.
Generally all of my Aussie silver is at least Good, but there are some exceptions!
Its always a joy when you find a nice pre 1934 Australian coin and for the old designs, at least you can get decent 1934 and 1936 coins at a fair price.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
OMG! I forgot about that avatar. I am due some new glasses and are slowly but surely going blind.
Any silver under melt price is totally worth it. I got lucky with my Aussie shillings, buying a whole set for $500 off some guy back in 2020 when I started collecting again seriously. It actually had 2 x 1917 and both were high fine.
Generally all of my Aussie silver is at least Good, but there are some exceptions!
Its always a joy when you find a nice pre 1934 Australian coin and for the old designs, at least you can get decent 1934 and 1936 coins at a fair price.
Absolutely, I try to buy any silver I can find for under melt value. (Within my budget).
A complete set of shillings for $500 with the two 1915s, 1921*, and 1933 included is a great score, especially if there were some KGV ones better than fine!
If it helps, most were cleaned and the post 1938 were all very average as in VG in some cases. I mean this guy put so much effort into the earlies - I mean I did not know 1961 existed in about Very Good. The 1915s were VG, 1921 star was Good+ and 1933 was cleaned VG.
I bought yet another 17th century coin yesterday - a 1663 halfcrown and like the crown, this was the first milled halfcrown issued a year later than the crown. Each denomination was staggered as Hammered coins were first issued from 1660 for Charles II, and they were undated. This one is a high Fine to VF, but again suffers from poor strike and the 3 is very faint (The bust type suggests 1663 and the 1667 coin is extremely rare), it will be confirmed when I get it, as it will have an edge date.
Besides the good strike, this coin is not cleaned. The reverse is chopped off as dealers photo was taken that way.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Got this in my change 3 days ago ;) a 5 lira coin from 2025, got it when I asked if there were any 5 lira coins instead of the bills, and I ended up getting one from 2025 :)) I use the coins more of course, but I got excited when I saw a date different then 2023/24 😂
Obverse: Diademed and draped bust left inside quatrefoil
Lettering: CNVT REX ANGLORVM
Reverse: Voided long cross over voided quatrefoil
Lettering: +EALDRED M ÐEO
Those are great, such good strikes and high grade. Beautiful coins, obviously you are into quality over quantity.
I DREAM of owning coins this nice.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Obverse: Diademed and draped bust left inside quatrefoil
Lettering: CNVT REX ANGLORVM
Reverse: Voided long cross over voided quatrefoil
Lettering: +EALDRED M ÐEO
Those are great, such good strikes and high grade. Beautiful coins, obviously you are into quality over quantity.
I DREAM of owning coins this nice.
Cheers, mate!
Yes, absolutely qjality of quantity. This is also the reason for my downsizing, so my coins like this can have its rightful place, and be displayed respectfully.
I am very happy with these. Coins like these often has a legend that is close to, if not completely, impossible to read, so I am very pleased with these. 😊
Just to confirm, the Halfcrown is definitely a 1663
The image says “Anno Regni XV” = Year of Reign 15, which is strange as he became King in 1660, but because of the Regicide of his father and Charles's reaction to the Commonwealth and Cromwell, this was considered treason and thus Charles's true reign began on the death of his father. The year is reached by counting 1649 as year one, so 1663 is year 15.
Its a technological marvel too, putting edge dates on coins was the latest rage in that era. The rim was a new innovation too, as it stopped clipping bits of silver of coins in an age of coins being worth their metal.
Complete milling was rolled out over a series of years in England. Crowns were first in 1662, then Halfcrowns a year later in 1663. By 1670 every denomination from 5 Guineas gold down to 1 penny was milled. 1672 saw copper half and farthings, but minted to a much lower standard with no collar, yet still milled. So the halfcrown here is Year 1 milled, Scotland also got milling by 1670. Most of Europe had converted from hammered coins to milled in the mid - late 17th century. Russia was one of the last, getting milled coins only in 1700 and France one of the earliest, with all their coins milled by 1630. Spain was also slow with its bullion (1760s in some cases), but milled local coins date from the 1580s.
Unlike the 1560s and 1630s milled coinage, this was total and co circulating with hammered coins. Despite this milling, older hammered coins survived and it was not until 1696 with a determined effort to get rid of them, did they finally disappear from circulation.
Some better shots showing the whole coin, its very round for the era. The quality of milling got worse and worse over time though, so by 1750 you get ovoid and wonky coins pretty much. Rims and shapes were perfect, but the striking was not, definite weakness on the 63 and on the French shield, this is extra wear to the overall wear which is heavier in the middle (Charles ear and wig/wreath).
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
There's a similar situation in France where the reign of Louis XVIII is sometimes calculated from the death of Louis "XVII" in 1795, but he actually became King of France only in 1814/1815 after the fall of Napoleon. Louis “XVII” never actually ruled since the monarchy was abolished. He was incarcerated after the fall of the monarchy and died in prison, but the monarchists considered him their king and gave him the number XVII as if he was legitimate.
For my part I received a nice lot of Chinese cash coins:
It will be fun to identify these. I don't know much about Chinese coins but I've been able to identify a number of them in the past. There are a few early 1900s ones in here that were struck, not cast, so the lot covers several centuries.
Oh, and as for the frigate Success, it certainly did not carry the crates of 1827 pennies since that ship had left the Motherland in late 1826. However, the Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser, Feb. 2nd 1827, reports that she brought British silver dated 1826:
I suppose later in 1827 or early in 1828 another ship carried crates of 1827 pennies. If I find anything, I'll let you know…
Hello. Yesterday evening the post office delivered more issues of the magazine about coins and banknotes. I think it starts with the letter "M" in the alphabet.
Před hodinou jsem dal na web dodatek, že mi včera pošta doručila a teď po půl hodině zazvonil pošťačka a dostal jsem balík označený jako cenné psaní. Je to aukce, kterou jsem koupil, protože mi prodejce nabídl velmi, velmi dobrou cenu. Velikosti jsou různé, malinké ale i "sestertiusové", uznávám, kolegové. Přečtu si rub a najdu to. Jen císař mi dělá problém. Čtu jen "Constantine" a ani tam často nevím, který to je. Takže jak si s tím budu hrát, tak některé poprosím o pomoc, ale nejdřív je změřím, zvážím atd. Celé je to bronzové.All Roman Empire
On Maundy Thursday, one is supposed to rest and eat spinach.
And I'm running out - this afternoon, "PPL" brought in coins. What coins? It's a treasure.
It doesn't really fit here either - it belongs more in exonumia. It's my order of coins for the "Circus of the World" section, where I put the most counterfeited coins in the world. If anyone is going to argue that they are real, I will weigh them, measure them and take a picture in better light. And now for me -,,all real from a sailor who sailed around the world and saved the life of a rich man with coins,,😁😁😁
Před hodinou jsem dal na web dodatek, že mi včera pošta doručila a teď po půl hodině zazvonil pošťačka a dostal jsem balík označený jako cenné psaní. Je to aukce, kterou jsem koupil, protože mi prodejce nabídl velmi, velmi dobrou cenu. Velikosti jsou různé, malinké ale i "sestertiusové", uznávám, kolegové. Přečtu si rub a najdu to. Jen císař mi dělá problém. Čtu jen "Constantine" a ani tam často nevím, který to je. Takže jak si s tím budu hrát, tak některé poprosím o pomoc, ale nejdřív je změřím, zvážím atd. Celé je to bronzové.All Roman Empire
That's a nice lot there.
I think I can recognize the reverse type of most of them.
And you got a provincial in the middle, I recognize #10 as an Antioch provincial.
Have fun sorting these coins.
============
ngdawa, your english pennies are very great, congrats for getting them.
I cannot see another argument against these coins.
None of those coins are authentic, they are all cheaply made Chinese rubbish which is silver plated brass/zinc.
I really do wish people would stop buying this garbage and then showing it on a serious coin collectors forum. It impels the Chinese to make more and more of it to sell to unsuspecting and naive collectors. These fakes are destroying our hobby as new collectors get put off, when fooled and swindled by these fakes. Hobbies should be fun and not expect newbies to have a degree in metallurgy and coin types to devise a real coin from a devious Sinatic fake from some junk mill and sold on Temu or Ali (Both sites should be shut down permanently).
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
None of those coins are authentic, they are all cheaply made Chinese rubbish which is silver plated brass/zinc.
I really do wish people would stop buying this garbage and then showing it on a serious coin collectors forum. It impels the Chinese to make more and more of it to sell to unsuspecting and naive collectors. These fakes are destroying our hobby as new collectors get put off, when fooled and swindled by these fakes. Hobbies should be fun and not expect newbies to have a degree in metallurgy and coin types to devise a real coin from a devious Sinatic fake from some junk mill and sold on Temu or Ali (Both sites should be shut down permanently).
Also don't forget Prince Edward Island issued some coppers in the 1860s.
Provincial coins were issued heavily between 1860 and 1870, before federation coins came back in during 1870.
The 20c is beautiful and rest is nice too.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
There's a similar situation in France where the reign of Louis XVIII is sometimes calculated from the death of Louis "XVII" in 1795, but he actually became King of France only in 1814/1815 after the fall of Napoleon. Louis “XVII” never actually ruled since the monarchy was abolished. He was incarcerated after the fall of the monarchy and died in prison, but the monarchists considered him their king and gave him the number XVII as if he was legitimate.
For my part I received a nice lot of Chinese cash coins:
It will be fun to identify these. I don't know much about Chinese coins but I've been able to identify a number of them in the past. There are a few early 1900s ones in here that were struck, not cast, so the lot covers several centuries.
Oh, and as for the frigate Success, it certainly did not carry the crates of 1827 pennies since that ship had left the Motherland in late 1826. However, the Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser, Feb. 2nd 1827, reports that she brought British silver dated 1826:
I suppose later in 1827 or early in 1828 another ship carried crates of 1827 pennies. If I find anything, I'll let you know…
Awesome lot of Chinese cash coins there! Have you been able to identify many of them these past few days?
It is actually not too uncommon to find Qing Dynasty cash coins here in Victoria, Australia. During the 1850s there was a considerable amount of migration from around the world due to the gold rush, with the Chinese making up 7% of the Victorian population by 1861. It is unlikely the Chinese cash coins actually circulated here very much, but they were certainly brought over and can be found in the goldfields.
Thanks for your research into the 1827 pennies, I had no idea that British silver coins dated 1826 were brought over!
Here’s another Australian Florin I received in the mail last week. (or whenever it was when I received the other coins).
Australia 1927 ‘Canberra’ Florin
This is a circulated example, but it has a quite an attractive ‘cabinet tone’ to it.
This was Australia’s first commemorative coin, which features Old Parliament House on the reverse. This coin had a mintage of 2 million with 400 proofs, so it is a relatively easy coin to find - even in uncirculated.
With the exception of a few years including 1916, 1934, 1935, and 1938, it is one of the easiest (still very expensive) pre-1955 Australian proof coins to obtain, as they were struck and sold to the general public - as opposed to the one-off VIP proof strikings for every other year.
I had a goal to collect all non circulating coins from non precious metals from Ukraine, but lost interest and stopped on 528/547, instead started collecting bimetallic Austria 25 Euros, now at 5/23
I had a goal to collect all non circulating coins from non precious metals from Ukraine, but lost interest and stopped on 528/547, instead started collecting bimetallic Austria 25 Euros, now at 5/23
That's a stunning Canberra. Silver toning is one of my favorite aspects of numismatics.
Thank you! I completely agree, toned silver coins have such a special look to them. I would pretty much always prefer a toned silver coin over a blast white one.
I have got a few more toned Canberras in my collection:
The first one is the only true UNC one out of the lot, but I definitely prefer the look of the second one!
It is a bit hard to see the details on the coins, but the photos at an angle like this is the only way I’ve been able to capture the toning unfortunately.
I had a goal to collect all non circulating coins from non precious metals from Ukraine, but lost interest and stopped on 528/547, instead started collecting bimetallic Austria 25 Euros, now at 5/23
Very nice, I acquired the 2003 Tirol coin which I was missing, and also have the 2024 and 2025 pieces waiting for me to pick up in a few days
those first in series are most expensive, I think around 500$ (saw for 350$ on local auction), so I'll start with more recent, which costs me around 90-100$
Okay, let's have a run through everyone else's stuff…
IM94 - Never knew about that penny, nice to have something with a more unusual history to it. I so often forget that we shipped coins across the empire. Fascinating stuff. Additional thanks to those who added onto the story. 🙂
Nice to see your 1915 florin too. And wow to the 1941 piece! Gorgeous quality, even if a little cleaned.
Camerinvs - Wowsers, that book looks like a serious bit of kit!
Those Olympic pieces are fun too. Wonder how many different sets have been produced for Olympics, bet it's the most celebrated event on coins!
Turi - That top coin looks especially cool (the other looks cool too, just not as). Awesome finds, amazes me how the progression of quality & artistic style moves over the ages & can be seen through coins.
FlyingRedPanda - Maybe nothing fancy, but still nice to see coins I've not seen before. 🙂
Pluto - Good to see you've got your 2025 pennies at last! I know you've been watching out for those.
Your Transnistia coins look like miniature coasters to me. 😛 Also getting a video game flashback where a puzzle was based on both the colour and number of sides of each token. 😬
Danzig - Now that is a weird bit of history. Would love to own the odd & unusual pieces like that.
Ixx - Interesting piece with the die crack. Looks like a good microscope quality too.
Shame about your half crown date, but hey, nice to have it all the same. A survivor!
Cool Japanese note too.
1890 crown is nice and sharp for the age. I think I saw a set of three 1818,19,20 crowns up for sale for about £100, but not the best quality (unlike Moneytane's!) . Tempted to grab them for myself, I do prefer the garter band design too.
Moneytane - some gorgeous silver there, as always. Whilst the 1696 is the clear beauty in design, most say I prefer the history to 1662.
Mr Midnight - I wouldn't say nothing extraordinary, I didn't even know Krete was separate for any amount of time! A nice little mix of Balkan-ish stuff 🙂
Oh look, it's me! 👋 And again…, then me again with my big block of stuff.
Moneytane - I also love the Ilay look. To be fair, if I don't tie my hair back, I reckon I look a bit like him (long curly locks to shoulder, but I'm not as handsome though. 😉)
I've always thought it interesting that English £50s are red, but it's the Scottish £100s. Scottish £50s are green. Or were until ~2020 when they became red in line with English, the £100s becoming a teal-y green colour. Never managed to get an answer why; probably Scotland just being awkward. 😛
Ngdawa - some amazing coins there. Adore them, they're beautiful. I dare say even museum quality. 😲
I reckon they might just be the best coins for this month (and there's been some tough competition for sure!)
----
Going to call it quits now because my battery is running low! I'll catch up with the rest of you eventually…
Indeed quite a few remarkable additions this month “👁️/👁️” 👆 ✔️. The gold medal 📀 probably goes to ngdawa's English pennies.
IM94
Awesome lot of Chinese cash coins there! Have you been able to identify many of them these past few days?
It is actually not too uncommon to find Qing Dynasty cash coins here in Victoria, Australia. During the 1850s there was a considerable amount of migration from around the world due to the gold rush, with the Chinese making up 7% of the Victorian population by 1861. It is unlikely the Chinese cash coins actually circulated here very much, but they were certainly brought over and can be found in the goldfields.
Thanks for your research into the 1827 pennies, I had no idea that British silver coins dated 1826 were brought over!
I haven't even started to ID them but hope to do so soon. I have another lot from about three years ago that still needs to be identified.
We have the same situation in Canada where, in areas of heavy Chinese immigration, there are often cash coins found randomly or by archaeologists. Some research was published on that, including Chapter 4: “Asian Coins in North America” in M. Akin, J.C. Bard and K. Akin, Numismatic Archaeology of North America — A Field Guide (Routledge 2016).
Your “Canberra” Florin is stunning. It's a coin I may try to acquire in the near future. In Canada we had no pictorial reverse until 1935 with our first dollar coin (except for the 1912–1914 gold, which doesn't really count). That 1935 dollar also happened to be our first commem.
A Collector
Camerinvs - Wowsers, that book looks like a serious bit of kit!
Those Olympic pieces are fun too. Wonder how many different sets have been produced for Olympics, bet it's the most celebrated event on coins!
Faulkner has now written four major books on 19th-century Canadian numismatic topics. I have added three of them so far to the Numista library. The fourth will be added soon (it's on the SHIPS COLONIES & COMMERCE tokens). This author has also written a large number of serious numismatic articles, by which I mean he has done in-depth archival research.
Mr. Midnight
This is the best thing I got. I have a fair collection of Canada and Newfoudland silver, I did not know there were New Brunswick coins. Now I am on the look out for them.
and
Moneytane
Also don't forget Prince Edward Island issued some coppers in the 1860s. Provincial coins were issued heavily between 1860 and 1870, before federation coins came back in during 1870.
The 20c is beautiful and rest is nice too.
It's strange that James Atkins (Coins and Tokens of the Possessions and Colonies of the British Empire, 1889) didn't notice the reverse of the 1862 and 1864 20 cents was different from the 5 and 10 cents of the same dates:
Only the 20 cents has a maple wreath. All these coins are somewhat scarce, but the 20 cents a little less so.
I suppose PEI officially and legally switched to the dollar in 1869 or 1870, but they only issued a cent in 1871 until they joined the Canadian Confederation in 1873.
Here are the other finds I got this month) aside from a coin from a new country and well.. some duplicates, I got two interesting banknotes too, they're interesting because the 5 lira banknote is the new “G” series one (tbh they could stop making them) and the 20 lira banknote says “E001”.. so i guess I got a first-batch banknote? It's quite crisp too feels like it came out fresh from the bank, some other E notes would be already starting to wrinkle honestly 😅
That's a stunning Canberra. Silver toning is one of my favorite aspects of numismatics.
Thank you! I completely agree, toned silver coins have such a special look to them. I would pretty much always prefer a toned silver coin over a blast white one.
I have got a few more toned Canberras in my collection:
The first one is the only true UNC one out of the lot, but I definitely prefer the look of the second one!
It is a bit hard to see the details on the coins, but the photos at an angle like this is the only way I’ve been able to capture the toning unfortunately.
Wow! Nice group, I always find the AU/EF pieces with residual lustre - tone really well.
My best one has almost no tone, but a nice shine to it
Yet my gEF/AU 2nd best coin is a toners dream with reddish brown and golden edge with some lustre.
The toning prize goes to these 1898 Maundy pair of 4d and 2d, a royal blue tone has emerged over the intervening 5 quadrants of a century.
They look more Royal Blue/Steel Cobalt colour in real life.
Sterling silver is also a perfect alloy to induce tone as the bluish/black rainbow tone of tarnished silver blends well with greenish tone you get from trace amounts of copper.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I had a goal to collect all non circulating coins from non precious metals from Ukraine, but lost interest and stopped on 528/547, instead started collecting bimetallic Austria 25 Euros, now at 5/23
Very nice, I acquired the 2003 Tirol coin which I was missing, and also have the 2024 and 2025 pieces waiting for me to pick up in a few days
those first in series are most expensive, I think around 500$ (saw for 350$ on local auction), so I'll start with more recent, which costs me around 90-100$
I started acquiring them since 2004, so I had to pay above the usual mint price For 2003. but still at a Large discounted price compared to eBay. however the most recent ones in themselves are €100, so ive decided to stop from this year. but I am happy to know I have the full series 2003-2025 :) . I will share pictures in the next couple weeks
I would say your coin is EF to gEF like mine and it has a good tone as well.
It's one of my favourite coins, and easily one of the rarest issued. Just 75,000 were minted and unlike the 1927 Canberra Florin, these were to be sold at 3/- each or 50% over face value. A very stupid move in the Depression. The extra shilling was to pay for the celebrations. Approximately 21,500 were melted and just 53,500 survived. Most are EF or better, although due to being souvenirs - few exist above the low MS grades and most are EF - AU.
There are numerous fakes and some Proofs in which the rider has nipples are rarer worth around $1000 or more. A standard EF/AU coin should cost between $250 and $500, UNC and Proofs 2 to 4 times as much.
A department store also sold them in small paper bags and these bags are worth more than the coin themselves - Foy and Gibson.A paper called the Star also gave them away in a box called “You're the star” (Information - Renniks Catalogue 2023 Edition).
Despite being dated 1934 - 1935, these coins were issued in March 1935.
Along with the 1932 Florin and 1938 Crown, its one of the 3 major coins in a basic Australian predecimal coin collection (Basic meaning true rarities like the 1930 penny are not included as its very hard for the average collector to get, but these 3 coins are fairly easy if you have the money and time).
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Waiting patiently for this beauty to arrive I have one at last. this is the sellers photo
That is awesome! It is funny you say that, as I am actually waiting on one to arrive in the mail too!
It should be here by Monday hopefully as tomorrow is a public holiday.
What grade is your one, I assume it is PCGS-graded?
No I don’t buy slabbed coins but I grade them myself
That is fair enough, it looked like it was in a graded holder from the photos. It looks like quite a nice example from those photos!
Moneytane
I would say your coin is EF to gEF like mine and it has a good tone as well.
It's one of my favourite coins, and easily one of the rarest issued. Just 75,000 were minted and unlike the 1927 Canberra Florin, these were to be sold at 3/- each or 50% over face value. A very stupid move in the Depression. The extra shilling was to pay for the celebrations. Approximately 21,500 were melted and just 53,500 survived. Most are EF or better, although due to being souvenirs - few exist above the low MS grades and most are EF - AU.
There are numerous fakes and some Proofs in which the rider has nipples are rarer worth around $1000 or more. A standard EF/AU coin should cost between $250 and $500, UNC and Proofs 2 to 4 times as much.
A department store also sold them in small paper bags and these bags are worth more than the coin themselves - Foy and Gibson.A paper called the Star also gave them away in a box called “You're the star” (Information - Renniks Catalogue 2023 Edition).
Despite being dated 1934 - 1935, these coins were issued in March 1935.
Along with the 1932 Florin and 1938 Crown, its one of the 3 major coins in a basic Australian predecimal coin collection (Basic meaning true rarities like the 1930 penny are not included as its very hard for the average collector to get, but these 3 coins are fairly easy if you have the money and time).
Nice one, I do remember you showing that one before. My MC Florin surprisingly did come today, I picked it up from the post office a few hours ago. I will open the package and attach some photos here tomorrow if I find the time, but it is too dark to take photos now.
As for identifying fakes for anyone interested — there are two die cracks that are known to appear on genuine examples.
This does not mean that your coin is not genuine if it doesn’t have these, or even mean it is genuine; I’m sure there have at least been attempts to add the various die markers to replicate this coin in China - where a large influx of these fakes have arrived from to Australia in the past decade. It is a good indication to look for though.
As Moneytane said: There are MANY fakes around. It would not surprise me if this is the most counterfeited Australian coin out there, so be very careful where you purchase it from.
Here is my Foy & Gibson bag with the coin itself.
I actually added a bit of information about the Foy & Gibson envelopes on Numista page for the coin a while back if anyone is interested in the history of them, as well as some information on mintages and survival rates - taken from original mint records.
I would say your coin is EF to gEF like mine and it has a good tone as well.
It's one of my favourite coins, and easily one of the rarest issued. Just 75,000 were minted and unlike the 1927 Canberra Florin, these were to be sold at 3/- each or 50% over face value. A very stupid move in the Depression. The extra shilling was to pay for the celebrations. Approximately 21,500 were melted and just 53,500 survived. Most are EF or better, although due to being souvenirs - few exist above the low MS grades and most are EF - AU.
There are numerous fakes and some Proofs in which the rider has nipples are rarer worth around $1000 or more. A standard EF/AU coin should cost between $250 and $500, UNC and Proofs 2 to 4 times as much.
A department store also sold them in small paper bags and these bags are worth more than the coin themselves - Foy and Gibson.A paper called the Star also gave them away in a box called “You're the star” (Information - Renniks Catalogue 2023 Edition).
Despite being dated 1934 - 1935, these coins were issued in March 1935.
Along with the 1932 Florin and 1938 Crown, its one of the 3 major coins in a basic Australian predecimal coin collection (Basic meaning true rarities like the 1930 penny are not included as its very hard for the average collector to get, but these 3 coins are fairly easy if you have the money and time).
Looking at the photos I would tend to agree with you on the grading I will be able to grade it more accurately when it arrives
Only one RBS commemorative left to get now. Here's the 250th anniversary of the St Andrews golf course.
And it's packaging
And then these two ancient notes (1812/13), the now oldest notes in my collection, and by some way. The old record was a German 1908 note.
Also got a bag of Channel Island coins to search through, and got £20 worth of 10p coins to search. “Noodling” I believe it's called? Not done it before, hopefully a couple of A-Z in there. 🤞
When I first bought that Florin, a few people on CCF thought it was a fake, but I proved it was a bad photo and I had bought it off a reputable auction house in 2021, who assured me the coin had a long provenance and not bought off Ali (Temu did not exist then).
Love those really old notes - even older would be ones with long s in them, so they look like “The Comifsioners of the board, Promife to pay the bearer”, and older still like pre 1730 are ones that say “Pay ye bearer the summe of”
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Double tournois, Louis XIII, 1643, struck at La Rochelle ("H" on reverse at the top). This is very low grade but it does represent the kind of small coins that were circulating in New France in the 17th century. La Rochelle was a major port where colonist would embark for their voyage to New France and a new life. Perhaps this coin came in the purse of one such colonist?
A lower grade “Devil's Face” $5 note. The signatures and the “devil's face” place it in 1955 or in the 1955–1956 period.
Now… let's have a further look at Tasmania. Like the Caribbean, many of the newspapers and gazettes are online, so a wealth of information is avaiable without having to go anywhere outside your home…
On March 5th 1827, according to the 1828 Almanack, H.M. ship Fly reached Hobart Town. The Hobart Town Gazette (HTG) of March 10th 1827 reported this:
I don't know whether anyone has ever established whether this is the ship that brought the crates of 1827 pennies, but this seems very likely. We would have to find out when it left the Motherland. If late in 1826 then we would have to look for another ship.
By the way, the frigate Success which I mentioned earlier in this thread, also carried copper, but certainly not dated 1827 since she left the Motherland in November 1826 (HTG April 7th 1827):
If not the Fly, then possibly the Layton which reached Hobart Town on October 9th 1827. The Almanack for 1828 says only that it carried 152 male prisoners and specie. This cargo (incl. the prisoners) would indicate that it was an “H.M.” ship.
Double tournois, Louis XIII, 1643, struck at La Rochelle ("H" on reverse at the top). This is very low grade but it does represent the kind of small coins that were circulating in New France in the 17th century. La Rochelle was a major port where colonist would embark for their voyage to New France and a new life. Perhaps this coin came in the purse of one such colonist?
A lower grade “Devil's Face” $5 note. The signatures and the “devil's face” place it in 1955 or in the 1955–1956 period.
Now… let's have a further look at Tasmania. Like the Caribbean, many of the newspapers and gazettes are online, so a wealth of information is avaiable without having to go anywhere outside your home…
On March 5th 1827, according to the 1828 Almanack, H.M. ship Fly reached Hobart Town. The Hobart Town Gazette (HTG) of March 10th 1827 reported this:
I don't know whether anyone has ever established whether this is the ship that brought the crates of 1827 pennies, but this seems very likely. We would have to find out when it left the Motherland. If late in 1826 then we would have to look for another ship.
By the way, the frigate Success which I mentioned earlier in this thread, also carried copper, but certainly not dated 1827 since she left the Motherland in November 1826 (HTG April 7th 1827):
If not the Fly, then possibly the Layton which reached Hobart Town on October 9th 1827. The Almanack for 1828 says only that it carried 152 male prisoners and specie. This cargo (incl. the prisoners) would indicate that it was an “H.M.” ship.
Those French coins are incredible! I am always so impressed seeing coins this old, and it is so fascinating to learn the history behind them.
The Fly (not to be confused with the 1986 horror) does seem quite likely as the ship that transported the 1827 pennies. Are those newspaper articles you are viewing accessible on ‘Trove?’ It does sound like the Almanack would be referring to the 1827-dated pennies, based on what has been said in the report.
It says on this website that the HMS Success arrived in January of 1827, so I think as you said - that can definitely be ruled out for 1827 pennies, (unless the 1827 pennies were not actually struck in 1827), as this is quite early in the year and the ship departed in 1826.
Once again - thank you so much for the research into the 1827 pennies, I have learnt a lot!
-———-
Here is my 1934/35 Victoria/ Melbourne centenary Florin that arrived yesterday.
This one is not as nice as the two previously-shown by Offa and Moneytane, but it is a problem-free genuine example, nonetheless. It is not enough to be of much interest, but I did notice the obverse is slightly off-centre/ mistruck on this coin.
Here is an example of the die cracks on this coin I was talking about before:
That brings the total MC Florin count to four for me:
Double tournois, Louis XIII, 1643, struck at La Rochelle ("H" on reverse at the top). This is very low grade but it does represent the kind of small coins that were circulating in New France in the 17th century. La Rochelle was a major port where colonist would embark for their voyage to New France and a new life. Perhaps this coin came in the purse of one such colonist?
A lower grade “Devil's Face” $5 note. The signatures and the “devil's face” place it in 1955 or in the 1955–1956 period.
Now… let's have a further look at Tasmania. Like the Caribbean, many of the newspapers and gazettes are online, so a wealth of information is avaiable without having to go anywhere outside your home…
On March 5th 1827, according to the 1828 Almanack, H.M. ship Fly reached Hobart Town. The Hobart Town Gazette (HTG) of March 10th 1827 reported this:
I don't know whether anyone has ever established whether this is the ship that brought the crates of 1827 pennies, but this seems very likely. We would have to find out when it left the Motherland. If late in 1826 then we would have to look for another ship.
By the way, the frigate Success which I mentioned earlier in this thread, also carried copper, but certainly not dated 1827 since she left the Motherland in November 1826 (HTG April 7th 1827):
If not the Fly, then possibly the Layton which reached Hobart Town on October 9th 1827. The Almanack for 1828 says only that it carried 152 male prisoners and specie. This cargo (incl. the prisoners) would indicate that it was an “H.M.” ship.
Those French coins are incredible! I am always so impressed seeing coins this old, and it is so fascinating to learn the history behind them.
The Fly (not to be confused with the 1986 horror) does seem quite likely as the ship that transported the 1827 pennies. Are those newspaper articles you are viewing accessible on ‘Trove?’ It does sound like the Almanack would be referring to the 1827-dated pennies, based on what has been said in the report.
It says on this website that the HMS Success arrived in January of 1827, so I think as you said - that can definitely be ruled out for 1827 pennies, (unless the 1827 pennies were not actually struck in 1827), as this is quite early in the year and the ship departed in 1826.
Once again - thank you so much for the research into the 1827 pennies, I have learnt a lot!
-———-
Here is my 1934/35 Victoria/ Melbourne centenary Florin that arrived yesterday.
This one is not as nice as the two previously-shown by Offa and Moneytane, but it is a problem-free genuine example, nonetheless. It is not enough to be of much interest, but I did notice the obverse is slightly off-centre/ mistruck on this coin.
Here is an example of the die cracks on this coin I was talking about before:
That brings the total MC Florin count to four for me:
The florin is an excellent coin and lucky you to have four
That brings the total MC Florin count to four for me:
What the heck, you have 4 of them!!!!!
Thats amazing!
I have been short on additions lately as I bought this nearly 2 weeks ago, but rashes of public holidays and a slow post office means it still has not arrived. Fortunately I am in contact with the seller, who I consider a friend.
This is my first PALLADIUM coins, easily one of the most obscure metals to have coins made out of it. Its unbelievably expensive ($950 US an ounce) and some 225 times rarer to find than gold. Only a few coins were ever made out of Palladium and this Tongan set was one of them.
These were issued in 1967 to celebrate the then king's coronation and a set of foil stamps were issued around them. Palladium looks a lot like silver, but is much rarer and more durable. Its very hard and not very malleable though and not as shiny as platinum. Its quite dense and this coin is 48mm in size and weighs 64 grams. There is also a half and quarter hau coin (1 and ½ ounce respectively). The coins are 98% platinum with some nickel or copper as a bonder.
The Hau was set at $100 Pa'anga and thus is not really a unit that sold huge amongst Tongans. Needless to say there was a lot of interest in the set and I won with a sniper bid at the last minute. I got them for below melt value as well.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Great find! First time i've seen a territory find with the bimetal pounds. Used to happen alot more with the round pounds as us UK collectors will know! Thanks for sharing. Found 2 or 3 older round pounds over the years prior to 2017.
Two more additions in April, one large and one tiny.
First the 1960 South Africa crown, where Kruger Gray's florin design was adapted (posthumously) for the 5 shilling piece.
Unfortunately the obverse is marred by black blotches, probably due to improper storage (it came in a set, and the obverses of the other coins are similarly affected).
Second the 1937 1 cent from Canada, small but perfectly formed. It is proving difficult to find the 1937 5 cent and 50 cent in good condition at a reasonable price.
That brings the total MC Florin count to four for me:
What the heck, you have 4 of them!!!!!
Thats amazing!
I have been short on additions lately as I bought this nearly 2 weeks ago, but rashes of public holidays and a slow post office means it still has not arrived. Fortunately I am in contact with the seller, who I consider a friend.
This is my first PALLADIUM coins, easily one of the most obscure metals to have coins made out of it. Its unbelievably expensive ($950 US an ounce) and some 225 times rarer to find than gold. Only a few coins were ever made out of Palladium and this Tongan set was one of them.
These were issued in 1967 to celebrate the then king's coronation and a set of foil stamps were issued around them. Palladium looks a lot like silver, but is much rarer and more durable. Its very hard and not very malleable though and not as shiny as platinum. Its quite dense and this coin is 48mm in size and weighs 64 grams. There is also a half and quarter hau coin (1 and ½ ounce respectively). The coins are 98% platinum with some nickel or copper as a bonder.
The Hau was set at $100 Pa'anga and thus is not really a unit that sold huge amongst Tongans. Needless to say there was a lot of interest in the set and I won with a sniper bid at the last minute. I got them for below melt value as well.
Thank you! They are my absolute favourite coin.
I have got a small number of other Victorian/ Melbourne centenary celebrations pieces of memorabilia. I would love to acquire a slice of the original centenary celebrations cake in the future! (Or more realistically - a slice from it).
The Centenary celebrations cake was the biggest in the world at the time, weighing 10 tons, and being made from 36,000 eggs! 100 gold sovereigns were baked into the cake, meaning those who purchased a slice had a chance to find one! (Mind you, the florins were essentially a flop as no one could afford them due to the Great Depression, so finding a sovereign was a substantial amount of money).
(Image courtesy: ‘Melbourne Victoria Centenary 1934-35 Memorabilia’ (Facebook))
I truly hope they do something for the bicentenary of Victoria and Melbourne in 2034-2035, although I think it would be unlikely this occurs and if it did definitely not as elaborate, as it is commemorating white European settlement. (Australia Day is practically non-existent nowadays as it is). I can almost guarantee there would be some sort of backlash and opposition if bicentennial celebrations were to go ahead.
Even just a restrike/ remake of the florins in silver and gold would be a nice tribute to the original florins.
—-—-—
That palladium set is so cool!!!
1967 seems quite recent for the first palladium coins in history, but I suppose it would make sense, as no circulating coins would have EVER been produced in palladium as it is so incredibly scarce.
I have only ever really considered palladium to be an industrial metal such as its use in catalytic converters as it is rarely seen in jewellery and coins to the same extent as silver, as silver is much shinier and more abundant.
I knew it was certainly a rare metal, but I had no idea it was 225 times rarer than gold!
How many of the coronation sets were minted, it can’t be more than a few hundred at most!
It's been blu-tacked onto a display. I did that in my very early days (I was like 8, don't shoot me! I promise I've improved!). When my coins were removed, they all had a mark just like that.
It's been blu-tacked onto a display. I did that in my very early days (I was like 8, don't shoot me! I promise I've improved!). When my coins were removed, they all had a mark just like that.
At least, that'd be my guess from experience.
All too likely.
I did worse to some coins, as a lad. 😏
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
I have got a small number of other Victorian/ Melbourne centenary celebrations pieces of memorabilia. I would love to acquire a slice of the original centenary celebrations cake in the future! (Or more realistically - a slice from it).
The Centenary celebrations cake was the biggest in the world at the time, weighing 10 tons, and being made from 36,000 eggs! 100 gold sovereigns were baked into the cake, meaning those who purchased a slice had a chance to find one! (Mind you, the florins were essentially a flop as no one could afford them due to the Great Depression, so finding a sovereign was a substantial amount of money).
(Image courtesy: ‘Melbourne Victoria Centenary 1934-35 Memorabilia’ (Facebook))
I truly hope they do something for the bicentenary of Victoria and Melbourne in 2034-2035, although I think it would be unlikely this occurs and if it did definitely not as elaborate, as it is commemorating white European settlement. (Australia Day is practically non-existent nowadays as it is). I can almost guarantee there would be some sort of backlash and opposition if bicentennial celebrations were to go ahead.
Even just a restrike/ remake of the florins in silver and gold would be a nice tribute to the original florins.
—-—-—
That palladium set is so cool!!!
1967 seems quite recent for the first palladium coins in history, but I suppose it would make sense, as no circulating coins would have EVER been produced in palladium as it is so incredibly scarce.
I have only ever really considered palladium to be an industrial metal such as its use in catalytic converters as it is rarely seen in jewellery and coins to the same extent as silver, as silver is much shinier and more abundant.
I knew it was certainly a rare metal, but I had no idea it was 225 times rarer than gold!
How many of the coronation sets were minted, it can’t be more than a few hundred at most!
Hilarious about the cake! Seemed coin makers never learned. 1935 saw our Waitangi crown released after 2 years of stalling, at least you guys could make your own coins, we were helpless little babies who need Mama England to do everything for us and still do. One of these days NZ may learn to stand on its own two feet.
A Waitangi Crown - NOT MINE!
The Waitangi crown was supposed to be a coin for all New Zealanders. It had a face value of 5 shillings or a weeks relief wages to an unemployed single man then. What did they do, sell them at 7/6 or a 50% mark up. They sold 764 single coins, seriously 764! and 364 proof ones went into the proof sets. Today figure $8,000+ for one, and that gets you a EF coin as they never circulated unlike the 1935 threepences. Even I don't have one - so that coin makes the Melbourne Florin look like a triumph.
Like everything else then, they arrived with no fanfare and were all sold out before they arrived in mid 1936!
NZ redeemed itself with the 1940 Centennial Halfcrown, only 100k + 800 proof were issued, but they are much more common and many people got one at face value. Although scarcer than most halfcrowns, they are not rare and finding them are easy. I have at least 10 of them. Also in 1949 was a silver crown for a Royal Visit that never happened and 200k were issued - they sold out, but many people got them (The Post Office limited sales to 2 per customer).
About Palladium - well Sierra Leone beat Tonga by one year in 1966 with some coins, the only other place to bother was USSR which had the world's main supply of Palladium in the cold frozen north. Palladium like Platinum, had a slight resurgence in the 1990s - but is now forgotten in the wake of gold fever. Canada mints Palladium Maple leaf coins at least.
The Tongan coins had 1500 sets of 3 coins minted and they were issued at the face value of $200 Tongan Pa 'anga. A set of foil coin stamps was also issued celebrating the coins. They followed an issue of gold “Koula” coins in 1962.
Bottom six stamps were celebrating the Palladium Hau coins. Top 2 stamps show Koula coins.
A second issue of Tongan Palladium coins came out in 1968 celebrating the King's 50th birthday. I am unsure of the specs of these.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
It is amusing to think of 10 tons of cake containing 3000 dozen eggs and a hundred gold sovereigns.😁
I wonder if the sovereigns all sank to the bottom of the batter and were gotten mostly by the cleaners.🤔
Palladium is fascinating. I doubt Ill ever own any, though I have a bit of Platinum somewhere.
From the rarest metal to the most common, one of my recent finds is a war time iron coin. These are all nice cheap items for my Scandinavian date sets.
It seems like this big 2 Kroner coin was stuck to a card for part of its career as well.
Also got a bunch of Canadian and one Newfoundland silver 10 cent pieces.
This dealer had a lot of silver five cent pieces as well, but I havent started collection those yet.
They are similar in size to the Scandinavian 10 ore coins.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
A 100 ton cake is so ridiculously elaborate and over the top. It seems so bizarre that someone (or multiple people) decided to not eat the slice and souvenir it! I think I have heard of similar instances from Queen Victoria’s coronation or wedding cake.
My question is how the hell they managed to bake it!! Even baking it in tiers, it seems like a hilarious task. It’s a pretty funny thought if all of the sovereigns sank in the batter as well, especially if they all clumped together and there were more than one coin in some slices.
A Waitangi proof crown is my dream coin along with a proof 1927 Canberra Florin. I wish they were more common as they look phenomenal in proof.
We were still reliant on the mother country to produce coins up until the 1960s where circulating coins were minted in London and Llantrisant, and in 1981 where 20 cents were minted in Canada as the RAMINT was overwhelmed with demand. The Royal Australian Mint now assists in the production of coins and notes for nations in Asia and the Pacific though.
—-—-—
Here is another late addition for this month.
Australia Five-Ten Cents Dansco Supreme Album
I was incredibly pleased with my Florin Dansco Supreme album I picked up a couple months back, so I decided to get another one. I have never collected by date or attempted to put year sets together as I prefer to collect without any real theme and go after individual coins instead, but I have had a 5 and 10 cent collection in a Dansco push-in album I have slowly being adding to over the years. I decided to move them all over to the far more superior quality Supreme album. All of the coins are UNC besides a couple of the 1960s and early 1970s which are more expensive. The 1972 5c is nice.
These albums are surprisingly expensive and had to come by as they aren’t produced anymore, but I would love to get some of the others and start some more date runs of coins. I’ve got a couple more of the years for both 5 and 10 cent denominations on their way.
I would say your coin is EF to gEF like mine and it has a good tone as well.
It's one of my favourite coins, and easily one of the rarest issued. Just 75,000 were minted and unlike the 1927 Canberra Florin, these were to be sold at 3/- each or 50% over face value. A very stupid move in the Depression. The extra shilling was to pay for the celebrations. Approximately 21,500 were melted and just 53,500 survived. Most are EF or better, although due to being souvenirs - few exist above the low MS grades and most are EF - AU.
There are numerous fakes and some Proofs in which the rider has nipples are rarer worth around $1000 or more. A standard EF/AU coin should cost between $250 and $500, UNC and Proofs 2 to 4 times as much.
A department store also sold them in small paper bags and these bags are worth more than the coin themselves - Foy and Gibson.A paper called the Star also gave them away in a box called “You're the star” (Information - Renniks Catalogue 2023 Edition).
Despite being dated 1934 - 1935, these coins were issued in March 1935.
Along with the 1932 Florin and 1938 Crown, its one of the 3 major coins in a basic Australian predecimal coin collection (Basic meaning true rarities like the 1930 penny are not included as its very hard for the average collector to get, but these 3 coins are fairly easy if you have the money and time).
Looking at the photos I would tend to agree with you on the grading I will be able to grade it more accurately when it arrives
Arrived this mornin, absolutely made up with this coin I have graded it as XF
I would say your coin is EF to gEF like mine and it has a good tone as well.
It's one of my favourite coins, and easily one of the rarest issued. Just 75,000 were minted and unlike the 1927 Canberra Florin, these were to be sold at 3/- each or 50% over face value. A very stupid move in the Depression. The extra shilling was to pay for the celebrations. Approximately 21,500 were melted and just 53,500 survived. Most are EF or better, although due to being souvenirs - few exist above the low MS grades and most are EF - AU.
There are numerous fakes and some Proofs in which the rider has nipples are rarer worth around $1000 or more. A standard EF/AU coin should cost between $250 and $500, UNC and Proofs 2 to 4 times as much.
A department store also sold them in small paper bags and these bags are worth more than the coin themselves - Foy and Gibson.A paper called the Star also gave them away in a box called “You're the star” (Information - Renniks Catalogue 2023 Edition).
Despite being dated 1934 - 1935, these coins were issued in March 1935.
Along with the 1932 Florin and 1938 Crown, its one of the 3 major coins in a basic Australian predecimal coin collection (Basic meaning true rarities like the 1930 penny are not included as its very hard for the average collector to get, but these 3 coins are fairly easy if you have the money and time).
Looking at the photos I would tend to agree with you on the grading I will be able to grade it more accurately when it arrives
Arrived this mornin, absolutely made up with this coin I have graded it as XF
Glad to hear it arrived safely, and congratulations on such an awesome coin!
By the way, while we are on the theme of Centenary Florins — I have got a couple Portland/ Victoria 1934-35 medals spare if anyone doesn’t have one in their collection yet and is interested in one. These medals were issued to all school-children in Victoria in 1935.
Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll send one your way!
I remember seeing a Waitangi crown once in person. It was the first coin I'd ever seen with a price tag of over £1,000.
I hadn't even seen a gold coin that expensive back then. I'd guess 2000-2005 (early days for me).
Don't even remember the actual price just that it was massive. More money than ~10 year old me could even comprehend ever having. Like I thought I could have a car with change for that kind of money.
Then all I recall was being sad because it had a picture of the king wearing a crown. He never wears a crown on our British coins so I thought that was pretty cool.
Back then I was trying to get one coin for each realm the British monarch was of. (E.g. one Elizabeth II for Canada, Australia etc, one George VI for Canada, Australia and so on. Basically a growth of the Empire & then decline & switch to Commonwealth). I didn't have a George V for New Zealand. Still don't, but my collection goal has pivoted since then. All the same, I'd buy one of the price allowed…
