Lot 116
Victoria Second Head. Extremely rare.
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Medium:
- Coins, Money & Stamps Notes:
- From the beginning of the Second World War Australians were barred from hoarding gold and even genuine collectors wanting to add a single gold coin to their sets were technically required to hold a letter of dispensation from the Federal Treasurer. Although collectors often ignored this obligation, the general restrictions on gold trading still meant that Australian numismatic gold coins were always still in short supply. On the 30 January, 1976 the Australian Treasurer Philip Lynch unexpectedly removed the restrictions on Australians owning gold and almost immediately ‘Sydney Mint’ sovereigns began returning to Australia from the sub-continent to satisfy the demand from collectors who were prepared to pay large premiums for coins that were largely unavailable to them and still considered genuinely scarce. For a short time, demand outstripped supply and collectors clamoured to pay thousands of dollars for coins in only average grades, but as supply continued unabated it wasn’t long before it was only the scarcer dates in better condition that were commanding a premium. Imperial gold sovereigns were traded the World over, and the astute Indian traders of the 19th Century singled out the ‘Sydney Mint’ coins made of a gold and silver alloy from the British sovereigns made of gold and copper. When melted down the Sydney-struck sovereigns delivered an extra sixpence of profit and so they were put away rather than spent, and initially it was examples of these coins in circulated condition which returned to Australia in the late 1970s and into the hands of eager collectors. In recent years the last of the ‘Sydney Mints’ in higher grades have come out of India, but as would be expected in much smaller numbers, and these have been quickly absorbed by the local collector market. It is interesting to note that the 1860 ‘Sydney Mint’ Sovereign which was always considered the ‘key date’ now has had fifteen coins graded in Mint State by the two major third-party grading services, whereas the ‘second banana’, the 1858 only has five. The 1858 Sovereign has emerged as the hardest date to acquire in the ‘Sydney Mint’ series in any grade and it is also safe to assume that they have not survived in significant numbers even on the sub-continent. This is only the second coin to make a PCGS MS grade and reports are this is the better of the two graded by this service
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| A$0 | A$99 | A$5 |
| A$100 | A$999 | A$10 |
| A$1,000 | A$4,999 | A$50 |
| A$5,000 | A$9,999 | A$100 |
| A$10,000 + | A$250 |