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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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Media Contact Only
David Van
0418649474
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 14th 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.