Sydney Mint
Pattern
A coin struck as a representation piece of a coin that never eventuated
patterns were prepared in London dated 1853. The Sydney branch of the Royal Mint was opened on 14 May 1855 and was the first branch mint established outside of of the United Kingdom. The first sovereigns were struck in 1855 with a pattern issued in 1853 with the
Reverse
The tails side of the coin
reverse design featuring a banksia wreath tied into a bow below surrounding 'AUSTRALIA' below a crown with the words, 'SYDNEY MINT' and 'ONE SOVEREIGN' encircling the design. This was the only time a colony would ever deviate from the imperial design though was short-lived with the Sydney mint reverting to the imperial shield design in 1871. The first
Obverse
The heads side of the coin
obverse featured the filleted bust of Queen Victoria designed by James Wyon.
Only four pairs (of half sovereign (
Learn more about the 1853 Half Sovereign) and full sovereign) are known to exist, one pair resides in the British Museum and the only known pair in private hands recently sold at the Quartermaster Auction for $696,300 (Monetarium, 2009) which is ex a Spink Australia sale in 1981 where the pair sold for $160,000. The other two pairs reside in the Royal Mint Museum in Wales
(Coin Web, 2007).
Image (The Coin Page, 2009)
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