NEW SERIES Vol. 7 1 985 "AUSTRATIAII II U M ISMATIST' Olficial Publication of THE NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA THE CAPTAIN JAMES COOK *COURAGE AND PERSEVERANCE" MEDAL Struck in copper after Cook's death in l'179. Obv. portrait. - THE NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA (Ihcorpotutk, the Nunsnoti Societr oI victot't4 lbunded I9l4 dnd the As!@iation oJ,lusnatian Ntnisno'isB (Melb) Iounded 1939) NEW ISSUE - Volume 7 THE NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA All Corcspondence ror B.r 6r5D, C,P,o. MELaOURNE, 30or I985 SUBSCRIPTIONS _ SENIOR MEMEERS - Ased 18 yelrs lnd ov.r,.,,.... ...... ..,,..,, t15,00 p.& tl+** rm Melhoun. aPo) ll2.m P.r annun IUNIOR MEMBERS- A!.d ll-l? y€s6..,, s500 p.r snnun OFFICE BEARERS FOR 1985 PAID LIFE MEMEERSHIP .,,,, ,,,..sr?5.00 THE FINANCIAL YEAR OF THE ASSOCIATION PEsid.rt Mr JOHN FARINGDON-DAVIS COMMENCED on lst ,ANUARY, l98s S.creh.Jl Mi R- L HENDERSON CONTENTS T43u.e. Mi TOM IIOWELL Editorial page ViCCPT4id'NtS STEPHEN Mi PRIO& M" EETTY TURVEY A N€w Boost to Rcscarch . 2 Courcillor* MEDALLIONS MR GILLIAN FARINGDON-DAVIS Mi3s SARWOOD D. Iohn LI Chopnon Murings of a M.da|Iophile . 3 16 Mi TERRY PEPPERELL MT'EAN HANS PRANGE Th. r,st Will and Testanenl ,,,,,,........ MT PAT SHIELDS COINAGE Libmria Mhs HARWOOD/Mr R DONALDSON Ships..................................... 22 'EAN Th€ Currency of Prince Edwa.d Idtd ......20 Publicity Ofriccr & N.wrl.tt r Mrs GILLIAN FARINCDON-DAVIS Archivisl Mi LEN HENDERSON PHOTOGRAPHS John FotiagdotDavis *t**t Editor GILLIAN FARINGDON DAVIS **i** Recipi.nts of (h. "Avard olMcrif' r969 II. L JENKIN t91t E, PHILPOTIS t9?l R T. N. JEWELT. F RNS. Mrs J, SIMON, B,E,M. AUSTRALIAN NUMISMATIST SPNNG. I985 SPRING, I985 AUSTRALIAN NUMISMATIST A NEW BOOST TO RESEARCH Stan Church, one ofthe best known members ofthe N.A.V., who MEDALLOPHLE died early in 1984, left the club in his will rhe sum of$1,000 ro be MUSINGS OF A invested to provide a prize for the best paper of the year (not By Dr John M. Chapmary F.RN.S., N.A.V 899 necessarily every year, for the Council have the discretion not to award it if they feel it is not me.ited). Collecting Australiana is in my blood. It started with stamps researching printed The N. A. V. already has its major prize for the best talk of the year, those intriguing early Commonwealth issues to prepay postage, unlike the moderntorrent labels" produced the "Max Stern Trophy", given by Mr. Stem also a member of of"jam very long standing and awarded annually -since 1967. to cxploit collectors. Judging for the "Max Stem" includes consideration of the actual I disposed ofmy philatelic collection in the fifties in order to finance presentation of a talk, the way it is delivere4 and the standard of agowingpassion for Australian historical books and documents, of exhibits which accompany it. The Council of the N.A.V. have which I have built an important collection over the last thirty therefore decided, in keeping with both the wording of Stan's will yea$. judging ald his known interests, that for the " Stan Church Prize" It was during March, 1965 that I bought a magazine at Spencer shall take into account chiefly the a.rnount and the standard of Street Railway Station to relieve the monotony ofa countryjourney, original resear'ch gone paper; papers which has into a arnd written little realizingthat such a trivial incident would change the course of will be considered equally with spoken ones- my whole collecting career from then on. There are several merits in this decision. It will give a chance to When I came to examine my purchase Australian Coin Review, mehbers who find it difficult to face an audience, orthose who sim- Vol. l, No. my initial reaction was -disappointing at having paid ply cannot often attend meetings. They can still write. It will also 9 two shillings for what appeared little more than a conglomcration of direct attention to those who may not be blessed with an attractive dealers' advertisements. However, one particular advertisement collection, but who cal dig and delve and ferret about, and put was to absorb my attention for most of the journey. On page I enough work and thought into producing some new contribution in l, Max Stem Pty. Ltd. were . "proud to announce thepurchase of their chosen field. And it will encourage research one of thc the world famous, intemationally- known Ray Jewell Collection objects ofour club. Sometimes one feels we do not really- encourage ofAustraliana". Ofcourse Max Stern was- well known to me from research so much as tale advantage of the results ofsomeone else's. my stamp collecting days, but I had never met Ray Jewell and only This award will adjust the balance. vaguely recollccted hearing his name in philatelic circles. We hear on the grapevine that the national joumal is to emphasise research. If so, that is an enormous impetus for scientific numis, Although the numismaticworld was foreign to me, and I knew noth- matics in Australia, contrasted with simple collecting. And "sim- ing ofcoins or coin collectors, this advertisement made fascinating ple" is not said in any derogatory way "simple" collecting is reading because holey dollars and dumps were offered for sale. great fun and can be a great investment, except- that by the time you These relics of Govemor Macquarie's novel attempt to stabilise the have v/orked out which pieces represent decent investments, there currency ofNew South Wales must stir the imagination of any stu- you are you have done some research! dent of Australian history, and I knew that specimens definrtely - belonged in my Australiana collection. Simply, Australia has with a few very notable exceptions which only go to prove the rule- not been one oftheworldwide centres of Wisely, I made a lightning trip back to Melbourne and hurried to numismatic excellence. -But we are getting there, and tle quiet Stem's where I was sur?rised to ftnd Ray Jewell himsell who had annual remembrance of Stan's name will take us a little further justjoined the firm. Iexplainedthat I $/ould like to acquire the finest down that road. specimens of the holey dollar and dump from the Jewell collection. AUSTRALIAN NUMISMATIST SPRING. I985 SPRJNG, 1985 AUSTRALIAN NUMISMATIST I-Dckily they were still available and I became the delighted new owner ofthat extremely fine holey dollar which is illustrated in Ren- With hindsigh! I realize that Ishould have bought evenmore heavi- quite plentiful. niks catalogue and an equally fine dump. ly, but in those halcyon days such material appeared However such abundance was soon to dwindle, for once these large Sorne days later, (after my cheque had clearedl), I returned to pick accumulations were exhausted, the supply virtually dried up, until up my coins, and on leaming that unlike most oftheir customers, I 1973, when the Philip Kennedy collection was auctioned in Syd- was a collector of history rather than coins, Ray suggested that I ney. This outstanding collection had lain dormant since the collec- might bc interested in some early Australian commemorative tor's death nearly thirty years previously, and I was delighted when medals they had for sale. On confessing my total ignorance ofthis Ray was successful with most of my many bids, the most notable field, he produced some rare examples from his own collection. I purchases being the extremely rare "Bushranger" medal by was amaz edto find that the price ofmy holey dollar would purchase Thomthwaite, the magnficent Murray Navigation bronze piece, I veritable feast of these rare and beautiful commemorative pieces and what appears to be the only recorded specimen of a mysterious - it did not seem 10 make sense! However, Ray explained that at Geman silver medal, C. 1800, commemorating the discovery of that time, for some strange reason, medals were out of fashion with Australia as the most important evenl of the 18th century. the numismatic fratemity, and consequently most of the important With the advent in the seventies of regular major auction sales by material had gravitated into the extensive collections ofthe very few Downie, Stem and Spink, featuring firct-class medallic material existing enthusiasts. It so happened that several of these large from world-wide sources, interest in this field awakened and gre$/, holdings had recently come onto the already depressed market so that today such material is the subject of keen competition by a hence the low prices. To me the prices were more than low, they- swelling band of enthusiastic collectors. were absurd, but of course I had the backgound to appreciate fully the hislorical significance of such pieces. In recent years, these auctions have been the source ofseveral uni que additions to my collection; breathtaking pieces ofsuch histori- I resolved not to let this golden opportunity pass, and embarked on a cal significance that the pleasure of ownership carries with it a buying spree guided by Ray, who from that day becsme not only my curatorial responsibility. most ftosted dealer-adviser but also a firm friend. Whereas my holey dollar had cost!380, my initial selection of fifteen outstand- Courageous rather than cautious bidding has been essential for suc- at these sales. Although auction fever can prove a costly dis- iDg items fiom the Jewell collection cost but 998/10-. The original cess accounting slip reminds me that I paid 925 for the finest existing ease, the experienced collector must instinctively recognise the opportunity that will not recur, and bid acco.dingly, success often specimen of the extremely rare Victorian Separation Medal, I I 2/ depending an instantaneous re-assessment in lO- for an F.D.C.