St. James's Auctions
Auction 25 5 March 2014
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Australia, Victoria, Adelaide, pound, type one, fine edge milling, crowned date within beaded circle, dentillated pattern within the beading, legend surrounds the design declaring the issuer as the GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE with a floral stop on each side of ADELAIDE at centre bottom, rev. VALUE ONE POUND within a surrounding pattern similar to that of the obverse, weight and purity declaration occupying the surrounding legend space, die cracked at top of legend (KM.1; Fr.1; McD. Type I), extremely fine for this issue, with frosty lustre
£75,000-80,000
The first gold rush in Australia took place near the town of Adelaide, with the usual effects of a discovery of great mineral wealth: at first the town was nearly abandoned by the rush to the gold fields, followed by an influx of unrefined ore which could not be easily exchanged for either official money or goods. Coinage bearing the monarch's effigy and authority could not be quickly implemented, nor would royal sanction be a certainty, so the local authorities - the banking manager and the colonial treasurer - had little choice but to authorize a substitute money, technically a token struck in gold. If pure and good, it would be widely accepted alongside British coinage circulating in Australia. An act of coinage passed by the South Australian Legislative Council caused the creation of a Government Assay Office almost immediately upon passage of the Bullion Act, but its gold ingots were not practical nor assured of exact value. Towards the end of the year 1852, in November, the first 'pounds' were struck from fresh dies. Unfortunately, the reverse die failed almost immediately, cracking finely at the top of the legend from the inner beading to the rim to left of DWT. A new die of slight variation was quickly prepared and was used to strike almost all Adelaide gold pounds known today. By February of 1853, a scant four months after the experiment of minting at Adelaide had begun, the last of the Adelaide pounds had been struck - some 25,000 in all, almost the entire mintage being of the second dies combination. Most have perished, as is true of almost all kinds of 'territorial' gold coinages: first subjected to the abuses of ordinary commerce, damaged or fashioned into jewellery, and finally turned in for their gold content (for they were in fact finer than the standard sovereign) to be made into new coins. These first, tentative attempts at desperately needed money in Southern Australia have become much coveted by collectors worldwide. The Type One issue, of which it is believed that no more than 50 were minted, is both a great rarity and the very first gold coin struck in Australia. The appearance at auction of any specimen is a landmark event, but here we see one of the finest known examples of this great Australian rarity.
£75,000-80,000
The first gold rush in Australia took place near the town of Adelaide, with the usual effects of a discovery of great mineral wealth: at first the town was nearly abandoned by the rush to the gold fields, followed by an influx of unrefined ore which could not be easily exchanged for either official money or goods. Coinage bearing the monarch's effigy and authority could not be quickly implemented, nor would royal sanction be a certainty, so the local authorities - the banking manager and the colonial treasurer - had little choice but to authorize a substitute money, technically a token struck in gold. If pure and good, it would be widely accepted alongside British coinage circulating in Australia. An act of coinage passed by the South Australian Legislative Council caused the creation of a Government Assay Office almost immediately upon passage of the Bullion Act, but its gold ingots were not practical nor assured of exact value. Towards the end of the year 1852, in November, the first 'pounds' were struck from fresh dies. Unfortunately, the reverse die failed almost immediately, cracking finely at the top of the legend from the inner beading to the rim to left of DWT. A new die of slight variation was quickly prepared and was used to strike almost all Adelaide gold pounds known today. By February of 1853, a scant four months after the experiment of minting at Adelaide had begun, the last of the Adelaide pounds had been struck - some 25,000 in all, almost the entire mintage being of the second dies combination. Most have perished, as is true of almost all kinds of 'territorial' gold coinages: first subjected to the abuses of ordinary commerce, damaged or fashioned into jewellery, and finally turned in for their gold content (for they were in fact finer than the standard sovereign) to be made into new coins. These first, tentative attempts at desperately needed money in Southern Australia have become much coveted by collectors worldwide. The Type One issue, of which it is believed that no more than 50 were minted, is both a great rarity and the very first gold coin struck in Australia. The appearance at auction of any specimen is a landmark event, but here we see one of the finest known examples of this great Australian rarity.