? This $5 dollar silver proof coin bears the image of an Aborigine and is one coin out of a 5 piece set. 'The Explorers' is the title of one of the Masterpieces in Silver proof coin sets, which was released in two parts in 1993 and 1994. Each of the two parts contains five coins, which commemorate the explorations done throughout Australia by various explorers. The other 9 coins that make up the complete set each feature the image of one important explorer, with the ...
? First sighted in the Heyde Sale in 1974, the 1864 Sydney Mint half sovereign featuring a Roman I in the date in place of the typical Arabic 1 is one of the scarcer errors of the series. While scarcer than the 1858 half sovereign with the incorrect legend, it has not nearly received the same attention and thus remains in a similar price range to the ordinary type for the date. It was most likely caused during the re-punching of the letters, a technique employed by the Sydney mint ...
? The 1860 is the scarcest wreathed bust half sovereign after the enigmatic 1855 and the third scarcest Sydney Mint date overall. It is estimated that there are fewer than 250 pieces surviving, most of which have some form of damage making certified examples rare. There were four problem-free examples offered at the Reserve Bank of Australia Sale from a total of 20 1860s . Prior to this, 1860s were extremely difficult to acquire though they did turn up in dealers' bullion piles from ...
? Struck with a plain edge and at the Royal mint London, the 1857 frosted proof half sovereign was struck as the first formal proof of record strike of the series. Struck as a pair with the 1857 sovereign, it was issued as a representative piece for museums and archival purposes. References Reserve Bank of Australia . The Auction of the Gold Coins of the Reserve Bank of Australia: pp VI-VII. Melbourne Museum . Sydney Mint. Available at: https://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/sydney-mint/ ...
? The 1866 proof half sovereign and sovereign pairs were discovered in London in the early 1970 and were struck as part of the Colonial mint's display at the Inter-Colonial Exhibition in 1866 and the International Exposition in Paris in 1867 as products of New South Wales . References Reserve Bank of Australia . The Auction of the Gold Coins of the Reserve Bank of Australia: pp VI-VII. Melbourne Museum . Sydney Mint. Available at: ...