1934-35 Melbourne Centenary Florin

The Centenary Florin is the scarcest commemorative with a total mintage of 75,000 and only 54,000 being sold, the remainder being returned to the Melbourne mint to for re-melting (Coin Web, 2007). They were sold for an

Issue price

The price a collector coin is sold to the public at the time of issue

 

issue price of 3/- to help fund the Melbourne Centenary celebrations (Coin Web, 2007). The coin is often sold with a Foy & Gibson bag, from either Melbourne or Perth. The Melbourne bag in top condition is very scarce while the Perth bags are rare in any condition (Coin Web, 2007).

According to correspondence between the Deputy mint master at the Royal Mint, Melbourne and New Zealand dealer, H. G. Williams, no

Proof

A coin struck from specially prepared dies to strike a superior quality coin not intended for circulation

 

proof Melbourne Centenary florins were issued (Verheyen, T, V, 2008), however orders between dealers were filled out for early

Business strike

A coin struck for circulation

 

business strikes which display

Proof-like

A coin that resembles the appearance of a proof coin of the same type, often resulting from being struck from the same dies

 

proof-like characteristics. This explains why the coins previously identified as being

Proof

A coin struck from specially prepared dies to strike a superior quality coin not intended for circulation

 

proof were frequently imperfect with H. G. Williams outlining in correspondence with the mint that a customer of his rejected a Melbourne Centenary florin as being faulty (Verheyen, T, V, 2008).

These

Proof-like

A coin that resembles the appearance of a proof coin of the same type, often resulting from being struck from the same dies

 

proof-like strikes are still much scarcer than typical

Business strike

A coin struck for circulation

 

business strikes and thus as with most

Proof-like

A coin that resembles the appearance of a proof coin of the same type, often resulting from being struck from the same dies

 

proof-like issues, do command strong premiums, however they are not as scarce as once thought. There are two identified

Proof-like

A coin that resembles the appearance of a proof coin of the same type, often resulting from being struck from the same dies

 

proof-like

Die

A cylindrical punch with an inverted impression of a coin's design used to strike the coin

 

dies, each with a flat, wire

Rim

The edge around a coin, often with beading or denticles

 

rim, unlike the

Business strike

A coin struck for circulation

 

business strikes which have a bevelled

Rim

The edge around a coin, often with beading or denticles

 

rim. !Die type I can be identified by a matte

Relief

The raised part of a coin's design

 

relief and mirror

Fields

The open, exposed areas of a coin's design

 

fields, while !Die type II can be identified by less reflective

Fields

The open, exposed areas of a coin's design

 

fields and a smoother

Relief

The raised part of a coin's design

 

relief (Verheyen, T, V, 2007).

NOTE: Beware of forgeries, while many poor forgeries produced from fresh and inaccurate dies are easy to detect, a recent influx of accurate examples have spilled onto eBay with tens of thousands of dollars paid large quantities of fakes. These are identifiable by a very soft central strike most likely caused by the production of the

Working die

The die with a reversed impression of the coin used to strike the actual coins

 

working die with a coin used as the

Master die

A cylindrical punch with an impression of a coin's design used to strike the working dies of a coin

 

master die thus insufficient detail passed onto the

Master die

A cylindrical punch with an impression of a coin's design used to strike the working dies of a coin

 

master die, and then onto the

Working die

The die with a reversed impression of the coin used to strike the actual coins

 

working die. For more information on detecting these forgeries, see: (Australian Threepence, 2009)

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