? Following the discovery of gold in Sydney, sovereigns were minted at the Sydney Mint from 1855 and continued until 1916. Prior to the discovery of gold, Australian colonies were reliant upon coins minted in Great Britain as these were the only coins recognised as having legal tender status . The 1850s Gold Rush affected not only the mintage of coins but also sudden population growth, particularly in Victoria. In turn, this demanded sudden developments in government administration ...
? The 1955 is the first year in the final run of Elizabeth II threepence. The date is relatively common with a number of mint rolls and mint rolls surfacing, most of which contained higher grade mint state coins with the typical mint roll averaging at MS65. Despite this, the date still commands reasonable premiums in higher grades, somewhat contrary to the numbers available leading me to conclude the date is somewhat overvalued. Collectors would do well to aim for at least MS66 for this date ...
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? The 1966 Twenty Cent was minted in Canberra and London. Look closely at the water swirl that ends in a point next to the platypus' head on the reverse. It is supposed to have no gap between the swirl and the head on the London coin, and show a distinct gap on the Canberra minted coin. However if the strike is slightly weaker on the London minted coins then there can be a small gap present and the coin must be examined closely to be sure of the mint of origin. No gap between ...
? The Sydney mint reverted to the Imperial St George and Shield designs in 1871 with the Shield design intended for export to other colonies. The first St George design depicts Pistrucci's St George slaying the dragon with his designer's initials B.P. in large characters on the right below the exergue. The design would only last for half a year with the Sydney mint switching to a small B.P. design later in the year making the large BP scarce. Large BP ...