Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3044 3-4 January 2016
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Australia
South Australia. British Colony gold Adelaide Pound Type 1 1852 AU58 PCGS, KM1, Fr-1. The exceedingly rare type 1 Variety with two linear circles around the beading on the reverse and a cracked die by the D of DWT. This filing of the die, evidenced by the large die break on the reverse, was the cause of the rarity of the Type 1 Adelaide Pounds, as the reverse die failure caused a new reverse die, of a slightly different design, to be created after very few pieces had been struck from die 1. This is the type with fine edge reeding. Well struck, with considerable remaining original mint luster, and light handling marks. This type is the first true government coin issue, produced by the Adelaide Assay Office, which was very close to the gold fields. There was a tremendous shortage of coin, for trade and exchange, although gold dust and nuggets were in ample supply. The government of South Australia attempted to ease the situation by turning quantities of the gold into useable coin. Unfortunately, this was done before England had given approval to coin money, and, after a very limited mintage, word came from England to stop the production of gold coins, as they noted that the Assay Office was not a legal entity and should not be striking the coins. The Type 1 Adelaide Pounds are extremely rare, and seldom offered. The only recent offering we can reference is the sale of a wide grained example by Noble Numismatics in April 2013 for approximatel $104,000. This piece is considerably nicer than that coin. This is the finest of only 2 examples certified by PCGS. Krause catalog price(s) for this item: $47500 in VF, $85000 in EF, $125000 in UNC.
Estimate: 100000-120000 USD
South Australia. British Colony gold Adelaide Pound Type 1 1852 AU58 PCGS, KM1, Fr-1. The exceedingly rare type 1 Variety with two linear circles around the beading on the reverse and a cracked die by the D of DWT. This filing of the die, evidenced by the large die break on the reverse, was the cause of the rarity of the Type 1 Adelaide Pounds, as the reverse die failure caused a new reverse die, of a slightly different design, to be created after very few pieces had been struck from die 1. This is the type with fine edge reeding. Well struck, with considerable remaining original mint luster, and light handling marks. This type is the first true government coin issue, produced by the Adelaide Assay Office, which was very close to the gold fields. There was a tremendous shortage of coin, for trade and exchange, although gold dust and nuggets were in ample supply. The government of South Australia attempted to ease the situation by turning quantities of the gold into useable coin. Unfortunately, this was done before England had given approval to coin money, and, after a very limited mintage, word came from England to stop the production of gold coins, as they noted that the Assay Office was not a legal entity and should not be striking the coins. The Type 1 Adelaide Pounds are extremely rare, and seldom offered. The only recent offering we can reference is the sale of a wide grained example by Noble Numismatics in April 2013 for approximatel $104,000. This piece is considerably nicer than that coin. This is the finest of only 2 examples certified by PCGS. Krause catalog price(s) for this item: $47500 in VF, $85000 in EF, $125000 in UNC.
Estimate: 100000-120000 USD