AUSTRALIA'S MOST VALUABLE COIN CHANGES HANDS FOR $1.15 MILLION. - Coinworks

18 Mar 2019 10:41 AM

AUSTRALIA’S MOST VALUABLE COIN CHANGES HANDS FOR $1.15 MILLION.

18 March 2019 - South Yarra rare coin dealer, Coinworks, has just sold the Proof 1930 Penny to a Sydney collector for $1.15 million.  

The sale establishes a new price record for an Australian coin and reaffirms the standing of the Proof 1930 Penny as Australia’s most valuable coin and the world’s most valuable penny.

“The Proof 1930 Penny is the greatest coin in all of Australian numismatics,” said Ms Belinda Downie, Managing Director of Coinworks.  “It is simply a phenomenal coin in an exceptional state of preservation, and for the buyer represents an investment that guarantees their place in history.”

The buyer crossed one item off his wish-list when he acquired a circulated 1930 Penny in 2018. The thrill and emotional high of this purchase saw him approach Coinworks several months later to acquire the ultimate 1930 Penny, the Proof 1930 Penny.

“Collectors feel a pride in acquiring exquisite objects, especially the rarest or most important pieces,” said Downie.

The Proof 1930 Penny was struck as a presentation piece at the Melbourne Mint at the height of the Great Depression and only six were made.  One was retained by the Melbourne Mint, one was sent to the Art Gallery of South Australia and a third was sent to the British Museum. Three were destined for private collections.

The Proof 1930 Penny just sold was originally held in a private collection and was donated to the British Museum in 1962. It was the second Proof ’30 held by the Museum.

Two decades later the British Museum decided that two Proof 1930 Pennies were surplus to their requirements and entered into negotiations with a Sydney-based Auction House to swap a Proof ‘30 for an example of Australia’s very first gold coin, an 1852 Cracked Die Adelaide Pound.

The exchange facilitated the return of the Proof 1930 Penny to Australia where it was acquired by a local collector for a figure reputed to be $150,000. An Australian and world record at the time.

The coin surfaced in 1999 when it sold at public auction for $258,000. In 2005 the coin changed hands again for $620,000.

“If the Proof 1930 Penny is the King of Australian rare coins, then this example is the King of Kings for its widely regarded as the finest of the three privately held proof 1930 Pennies,” said Downie.  “Buyers are appreciating the overwhelming rarity of top Australian coins and recognising the investment opportunities that their offering presents.”

“The sale of the Proof 1930 Penny to a local collector also means that an Australian treasure stays in Australia, always an important consideration for Coinworks.”

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David Van

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Note to Editors

Hi res images of the coin may be found at this link

For further history about this coin or the 1930 Penny in general please contact us

 

FACT SHEET

What is the Proof 1930 Penny?

A proof coin is a showpiece record of those coins being struck for circulation.

Prior to 1966, proofs were minted at the discretion of the Mint Master. Only a handful of coins were struck, and to the highest standards possible, so they were both exceedingly rare and stunningly beautiful.  Never sold to the public, the coins remained within the minting network.

There are six Proof 1930 Pennies known.  Three are held in public institutions (the British Museum ex-Melbourne Mint; the Museum of Victoria ex- Melbourne Mint and the Art Gallery of South Australia ex- Melbourne Mint) and three are held privately.

The Proof 1930 Penny is regarded as the icon of the Australian coin industry.  It has over the years been referred to as the ‘King of Coins’.

History of the 1930 Penny

The 1930 Penny is a national icon and its star status has made it one of Australia’s most popular collector coins.

Officially, the 1930 Penny does not exist. Records at the Melbourne Mint indicate that while 638,000 halfpennies were struck for circulation in that year, no pennies were issued. Production was zero.

The mint does however have a record of the six Proof 1930 Penny examples that were created as museum pieces.

As we now know a few 1930 Pennies were accidentally struck and released into circulation, somewhere between 1500 and 2000, and that mistake started a fervour that continues to this day.

The 1930 Penny’s road to stardom was paved in the 1940s when dealers offered to pay up to 10/- for an example. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that the 1930 Penny became a national symbol. Newspapers were instrumental in creating that image, television played a lesser role.

Lists of Australian coins and their market prices and headlines such as “Have you cashed in on Australia’s coin craze yet?” and “A Penny could be worth £500” appeared in the 60s in the daily newspapers. The nation’s rare coin market reacted in a frenzy as thousands cashed in on the opportunity to make big money.

The 1930 Penny was a part of Australian folklore. A symbol of the Depression, it was everyone’s chance to make big money fast.

The original hysteria was fuelled by the imminent changeover to decimal currency on the 14^th February 1966. With thousands of undiscovered rare coins certain to be melted down, collectors keen to acquire complete sets of all coins minted in Australia clamoured to acquire the elusive pieces, at rapidly escalating prices.

Before the arrival of decimal currency in 1966, no Australian - man, woman or child - could look at a penny without glancing at the date … just in case. Children would huddle in schoolyards, rifling through their lunch money. No coin jar was safe from scrutiny. Even years after the introduction of decimal currency, the backs of grandmothers’ sofas continued to be searched.

There are no pennies being checked in schoolyards anymore, but for many the search still goes on for our most famous penny.

 

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