Australia 1855-S 1/2 sovereign - Revision history

LatinKing2020: added link

2026-03-11T21:24:42Z

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LatinKing2020: Text replacement - "2017. ♪" to "2017."

2025-08-21T05:05:25Z

Text replacement - "2017. ♪" to "2017."

LatinKing2020: Text replacement - "* McDonald, Greg, ''The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed.,'' Lavington, Australia, 2017." to "* McDonald, Greg, ''The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed.,'' Lavington, Australia, 2017. ♪ * Pitt, Michael, ed., ''Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values, 32nd Edition,'' Matraville, New South Wales, Australia: Renniks Publications, 2023."

2025-08-21T04:37:44Z

Text replacement - "* McDonald, Greg, ''The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed.,'' Lavington, Australia, 2017." to "* McDonald, Greg, ''The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed.,'' Lavington, Australia, 2017. ♪ * Pitt, Michael, ed., ''Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values, 32nd Edition,'' Matraville, New South Wales, Australia: Renniks Publications, 2023."

LatinKing2020: added link

2024-09-06T20:11:18Z

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LatinKing2020: added note

2023-08-04T22:26:31Z

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LatinKing2020: Created page with "Heritage sale 3105, lot 32129 photo courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries This specimen was lot 32..."

2023-08-04T22:25:48Z

Created page with "300px|thumb|Heritage sale 3105, lot 32129 300px|thumb|photo courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries This specimen was lot 32..."

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[[Image:H3105-32129o.jpg|300px|thumb|Heritage sale 3105, lot 32129]]
[[Image:H3105-32129r.jpg|300px|thumb|photo courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries]]

This specimen was lot 32129 in Heritage sale 3105 (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $168,000. The catalog description<sup>[1]</sup> noted, <blockquote>"[[Australia]]: Likely the Finest Known 1855 Proof 'Banksia' 1/2 Sovereign. Victoria gold Proof Pattern 1/2 Sovereign 1855-SYDNEY PR66★ Cameo NGC, London mint, Type II. Reeded edge. By Leonard Charles Wyon. Rarely are collectors confronted with such an exceptional offering that they can describe as practically unimprovable, and yet we have the present selection. Graced with a twin device frost and mirroring in the fields that creates an immediately appreciable sense of depth, even without magnification, the viewer can observe the coin's imposing reliefs creating their own silhouettes in the surrounding pondlike reflectivity. Interestingly, although the issue is only known as a Pattern, the small body of surviving examples indicates several may have entered into regular circulation and certainly encountered wear. Today, just 5 other specimens are known, including:

In Proof Finish:
1) Noble Numismatics Auction 62 (November 1999, Lot 1419); Spink Noble Numismatics Auction 39 (July 1992, Lot 1044); Spink Australia Auction 6 (November 1981, Lot 983); John Ahbe Collection; Captain Vivian Hewitt Collection; Virgil Brand Collection; J. G. Murdoch Collection (Sotheby's July 1903, Lot 615) [part]
2) The British Museum specimen (1935,0401.9027). Bequeathed to the British Museum by Thomas Bryan Clarke-Thornhill in 1935

In Circulated Condition:
1) The Museums Victoria, Melbourne specimen (NU 3130); Transferred from the National Gallery of Victoria, March 15, 1976; Donated by A.H.F. Baldwin in 1929
2) The Walter Eigner specimen. Noble Numismatics Auction 112 (July 2016, Lot 1769); Spink Australia Auction 15 (March 1985, Lot 474). Certified VF Details (Graffiti) by PCGS.
3) The W.E. Purnell specimen; Noble Numismatics Auction 101 (November 2012, Lot 1477)

Though Noble previously described the ex. Ahbe, Hewitt, Brand, Murdoch piece as likely the finest known in 1999, it is incredibly difficult to imagine that it surpassed the coin seen here either in terms of aesthetic appeal or technical preservation. At present the only certified example, and a specimen sure to inspire fierce competition before it disappears from the market for decades to come. Ex. Quartermaster Collection (Monetarium, Australia June 2009, Lot 229); Monetarium, Australia to Tom Hadley (Quartermaster) in 1999; Strauss Collection (Sold via Private Treaty in 1999). From the Regent Collection."</blockquote> The regular issue of half sovereigns began in 1855.

''Recorded mintage:'' 21,000 of the regular KM 1.

''Specification:'' 3.99 g, 0.917 fine gold.

''Catalog reference:'' KM-Pn3, McDonald-002 (Not seen), Rennik-pg. 24, Marsh-381B (R6), QM-229 (R6; this coin).

''[[Bibliography|Source:]]''
* Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, ''Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed.,'' Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
* McDonald, Greg, ''The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed.,'' Lavington, Australia, 2017.
* Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, ''Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed.'', Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
* <sup>[1]</sup>Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, ''2023 January 9 NYINC World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction - New York #3105,'' Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2022.

''Link to:''
* [[Australia 1853-S 1/2 sovereign|1853(sy) pattern half sovereign]]
* [[Australia 1855-S sovereign|1855(sy) sovereign]]
* [[Australia 1856-S 1/2 sovereign|1856(sy) half sovereign]]
* [[Coins and currency dated 1855]]

[[Category:Selections from Heritage sale 3105]]

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ''Link to:''
 * [[Australia 1853-S 1/2 sovereign|1853(sy) pattern half sovereign]]
 * [[Melbourne 1855 penny token KM-Tn53]], Edw<sup>D</sup> De'Carle & Co.
 * [[Australia 1855-S sovereign|1855(sy) sovereign]]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ''[[Bibliography|Source:]]''
 * Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, ''Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed.,'' Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
-* McDonald, Greg, ''The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed.,'' Lavington, Australia, 2017. ♪
+* McDonald, Greg, ''The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed.,'' Lavington, Australia, 2017.
 * Pitt, Michael, ed., ''Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values, 32nd Edition,'' Matraville, New South Wales, Australia: Renniks Publications, 2023.
 * Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, ''Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed.'', Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ) The W.E. Purnell specimen; Noble Numismatics Auction 101 (November 2012, Lot 1477)
-Though Noble previously described the ex. Ahbe, Hewitt, Brand, Murdoch piece as likely the finest known in 1999, it is incredibly difficult to imagine that it surpassed the coin seen here either in terms of aesthetic appeal or technical preservation. At present the only certified example, and a specimen sure to inspire fierce competition before it disappears from the market for decades to come. Ex. Quartermaster Collection (Monetarium, Australia June 2009, Lot 229); Monetarium, Australia to Tom Hadley (Quartermaster) in 1999; Strauss Collection (Sold via Private Treaty in 1999). From the Regent Collection."</blockquote> The regular issue of half sovereigns began in 1855.
+Though Noble previously described the ex. Ahbe, Hewitt, Brand, Murdoch piece as likely the finest known in 1999, it is incredibly difficult to imagine that it surpassed the coin seen here either in terms of aesthetic appeal or technical preservation. At present the only certified example, and a specimen sure to inspire fierce competition before it disappears from the market for decades to come. Ex. Quartermaster Collection (Monetarium, Australia June 2009, Lot 229); Monetarium, Australia to Tom Hadley (Quartermaster) in 1999; Strauss Collection (Sold via Private Treaty in 1999). From the Regent Collection."</blockquote> The regular issue of half sovereigns began in 1855 and used the "fillet head" of the queen.
 ''Recorded mintage:'' 21,000 of the regular KM 1.