Downies Australian Coin Auctions Coin Australian Downies 25-27 February 2020 25-27 335 3 Redland Drive Mitcham 3132 Victoria, Australia Phone: +61 (0) 3 8677 8800 Fax: +61 (0) 3 8677 8899 335 Auction Email: [email protected] Website: www.downies.com/auctions Bid online: auctions.downies.com 25-27 FEBRUARY 2020 UPCOMING AUCTIONS Consignments Welcomed Auction 336: Starting 19 May 2019 Our locations... Auction 337: Starting 18 August 2019 The Auction team are always pleased to provide an obligation-free assessment of potential auction consignments. Please call our Head Office to arrange an appointment, Monday - Friday 9am-4:30pm. Mitcham – Head Office; Melbourne - Southgate Sydney – Town Hall Coins & Auction 338: Starting 27 October 2019 Australian Coin Auctions Collectables* Shop U04, Southgate 3 Redland Drive 3 Southgate Avenue Shop 5, Town Hall Square Mitcham, 3132, VIC, Australia Southbank, 3006 , VIC, Australia 464-480 Kent Street Phone: +61 (0)3 8677 8800 Phone: (03) 9686 8411 Sydney 2000, NSW, Australia Dates subject to change Fax: +61(0)3 8677 8899 [email protected] Phone: (02) 9299 4131 [email protected] [email protected] *Authorised reseller for Downies How to find us... By train Mitcham Station is situated on the Belgrave & Lilydale lines. From the station, it is about a 20min walk to Downies ACA. By bus Bus 736 route runs between Blackburn Station and Mitcham Station operating via Vermont South, Glen Waverley and Forest Hill. Exit the bus at stop 11501 (Redland Drive/Mitcham Road). Bus 765 route runs between Box Hill Station and Mitcham Station operating via Brentford Square, Forest Hill & Blackburn. Exit the bus at stop 11501 (Redland Drive/Mitcham Road). By car There is ample street parking available on Redland Drive. Please note the left hand side of the road has a 2hr parking limit. ©2020 – All rights reserved. Every Downies catalogue is printed on environmentally friendly chlorine-free and acid-free paper manufactured by an accredited mill. Both paper manufacturer and printer are accredited to ISO14001, the internationally recognised standard to Environmental Management. adustroaliawn conin auctieiosns AUCTION 335 AUCTION DATES Venue: 3 Redland Drive, Mitcham VIC Tuesday 25 February 2020 Commencing 9am Wednesday 26 November 2020 Commencing 9am Thursday, 27 November 2020 Commencing 9am You can bid Live Online at auctions.downies.com or bid early PRE-SALE VIEWING 3 Redland Drive, Mitcham VIC Wednesday, 19 February 2020 9:30am to 5pm Thursday, 20 February 2020 9:30am to 5pm Friday, 21 February 2020 9:30am to 5pm *Monday, 24 February 2020 9:30am to 5pm *Priority will be given to interstate and overseas viewers All times published in this catalogue are AEDT Important Information... Mail bidders Mail Prices realised Collection Dates All absentee bids (mail, fax, email) Downies ACA A provisional Prices Lots may be paid for and bids must be received in this office PO Box 3131 Realised list for Auction collected from 3 Redland by 1pm, Monday, 24 February Nunawading Vic 3131 335 will be available at Drive Mitcham from noon 2020. We cannot guarantee the Australia www.downies.com/ Friday, 28 February 2020 execution of bids received after auctions from noon by appointment. Telephone +61 (0) 3 8677 8800 this time. Invoices and/or goods will Friday 28 February. Fax +61 (0) 3 8677 8899 be shipped as soon as practicable Email [email protected] after the auction. Delivery of lots will be subject to the receipt of Website cleared funds. www.downies.com/auctions Bid online: auctions.downies.com 1 WELCOME TO SALE 335 A spectacular start to what is sure to be another outstanding year for Australian numismatics, I would like to welcome you to our first auction of 2020 – Sale 335! 2019 was an important year in the 57-year history of Downies Australian Coin Auctions. Such was the level of activity in the market, and such was the plethora of important material on offer, we held five sales throughout the year. In part due to the popularity of our Live Auction Platform, those sales were very successful, with clearance rates reaching seldom seen heights. We expect 2020 to be just as exciting, with so many opportunities for passionate collectors. It all starts here, with a breathtaking array of material in Sale 335. Headlined by the excessively rare ‘Hannibal Head’ 1813 Holey Dollar – one of just three known examples – Sale 335 is also highlighted by the rare 1926S Gold Sovereign and a WWI Liverpool NSW Internment Camp Threepence. These illustrious rarities are complemented by three 1852 Adelaide Pounds and a 1930 Penny – as well as a vast range of sovereigns and half sovereigns, pristine predecimals, world coins and banknotes, plus medals, fobs jewellery and more! I would like to pay tribute to the members of our auction department for their unstinting efforts, and also thank our vendors and collectors for their role in making our sales so successful. I trust you enjoy Sale 335, and don’t forget, EVERY lot can be viewed in our digital catalogue found at auctions.downies.com! Enjoy your collecting! Ken Downie | Downies Collectables PS Preparations are well underway for Sale 336, to be held in May, but it’s not too late to be part of all the auction action! If you would like to consign some or all of your collection, then contact us as soon as possible. Our brands, part of the Downies Collectables family 2 Downies Australian Coin Auctions - Sale No. 335 CONTENTS Session 1: Tuesday 25 February 2020, commencing 9am LOT # DESCRIPTION PAGE 1 Australian decimal coins; precious metals decimal coins 10 Session 2: Wednesday 26 February 2020, commencing 9am 1115 Ancient coins 38 1227 World coins and banknotes 42 Session 3: Wednesday 26 February 2020, commencing 3.30pm Australian and world military medals and militaria; documents; cigarette and 1940 73 postcards; books; Australian and world stamps; other memorabilia Session 4: Thursday 27 February 2020, commencing 9am 2241 Financial notes; pre Federation banknotes; predecimal banknotes 88 2409 Australian decimal test notes; decimal banknotes 95 Session 5: Thursday 27 February 2020, commencing 1.30pm Convict love token; Australasian tokens and checks; internment camps 2785 110 tokens; agricultural and exhibition medallions; commemorative medallions Proclamation coins; Adelaide Pounds; Australian Holey Dollar; Australian 2911 116 predecimal gold coins 3039 Patterns and fantasies; Australian predecimal proofs; predecimal coins 120 All times published in this catalogue are AEDT The auction catalogue is available to view online with additional images at auctions.downies.com Bid online: auctions.downies.com 3 HIGHLIGHTS OF AUCTION 335 WWI Liverpool Internment Camp Token In ‘as struck’ condition, and underpinned by attractive toning, Sale 335 is highlighted by one of the finest known tokens issued for use at the First World War Internment Camp at Liverpool, NSW. Australia’s largest WWI internment camp, holding up to 5,000 people, the Liverpool Internment Camp had its own currency for day-to-day transactions. Square in shape and Germanic in design, the threepence token was radically different than Australian coins, so it could not be used to facilitate escape. Struck from aluminium, very few survived the war, with a tiny number in the supreme Uncirculated quality seen here. A unique piece of Australian history, this important WWI artefact is extremely rare in Uncirculated quality, and is seldom seen on the market. Lot 2836, Session 5, 27 February 2020 King George V 1926S Gold Sovereign A mouth-watering opportunity to own one of Australia’s highest profile rarities, Sale 335 is highlighted by the last Sydney Mint Sovereign – the famed 1926S! A coin of immense historic importance, as the concluding Sydney Mint sovereign date, this celebrated coin is also hunted for the extreme rarity. Whilst the mintage is not among the lowest of the series, the extremely infrequent appearance of the 1926S speaks of unquestionable rarity. It is recognised as one of Australia’s top two or three sovereign rarities. Whether the mintage was melted down or used to satisfy foreign debt, as with so many 1920s sovereigns, the 1926S is known by a handful of coins. Sale 335 features one of the few extant examples – in about Uncirculated condition. Lot 3014, Session 5, 27 February 2020 4 Downies Australian Coin Auctions - Sale No. 335 One Pound Coombs/Wilson Reserve Bank HK68 Last Prefix Unquestionably the last numbered Australian One Pound process, and was presented to the vendor at the time of note, the One Pound Coombs/Wilson Reserve Bank HK68 the release of the 1989 publication, The Moneymakers Last Prefix was once part of the Note Printing Australia International. archives. It carries the serial numbers 360000. In Uncirculated condition, with a couple of minor edge This important predecimal issue was part of a special bumps, the One Pound Coombs/Wilson Reserve Bank run of 1,000 notes, created by NPA for archival purposes. HK68 Last Prefix Serial Number 360000 represents a These notes were largely used for the special 1991 25th unique opportunity for the specialised collector. Anniversary Banknote Portfolio, having a limited edition of 800. The note before you is clearly a ‘survivor’ from that Lot 2376, Session 4, 27 February 2020 Hannibal Head 1813 NSW Holey Dollar The offering of the exceptionally rare ‘Hannibal Head’ 1813 Holey Dollar is not just a major highlight of Sale 335 – it is a major highlight of the year in Australian numismatics! The Hannibal Head Silver 8 Reales was struck in Lima in 1810, seemingly as a political protest at Napoleon Bonaparte’s installation of his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. The mint refused to depict Joseph, and instead created an ‘imaginary portrait’ of imprisoned Spanish king, Ferdinand VII. The portrait was so ugly that it was called a ‘Hannibal Head’ – a derogatory reference to the much-maligned Carthaginian general.