Australia: South Australia. British Colony - Victoria gold "Adelaide" Pound 1852 AU58 NGC,...

Description

Very Rare "Type 1" Adelaide Pound

South Australia. British Colony - Victoria gold "Adelaide" Pound 1852 AU58 NGC, KM1, Fr-3. The exceedingly rare Type 1 variety with two linear circles around the beading on the reverse and a die crack by the "D" of "DWT". This filling of the die, evidenced by the large die break on the reverse, was the indirect cause of the rarity of the Type 1 Adelaide Pounds, as the reverse die failure caused a new reverse die, of a slightly different design, to be created after very few pieces had been struck from die 1.

The type's production as a whole derives from the tremendous shortage of coins in Australia in this period. However, gold dust and nuggets were in ample supply, and so the government of South Australia attempted to ease the situation by turning quantities of the gold into useable coin. Unfortunately, this was done before England had given approval to coin money, and, after a very limited mintage, word came from England to stop the production of gold coins, as they noted that the Assay Office was not a legal entity and should not be striking the coins. Because of this short production, even the later (KM2) Adelaide Pound issues are considered quite scarce in better condition, but the KM1 beaded reverse Type 1 issue is exceptionally so, with the Standard Catalog of World Coins noting only 20-50 pieces produced in total. This is one such example of this Australian rarity, displaying lustrous golden fields and virtually no wear to the devices. A laudable coin, and a fleeting opportunity for the Australian specialist, one that will likely not be seen again for some time.

Metal: Gold
Diameter: 22.5mm
Weight: 8.75g
AGW: 0.258oz
Mintage: 25,000

More information about Australian Coins. See also: Australia World Coin Nationality.



Note for clients in the European Union: This lot is considered by the European Union to be “investment gold”. We believe that it meets the criteria established in Article 344(1), point (2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and thus should be exempt from import VAT regardless of the selling price. Any questions or concerns about VAT should be addressed to your accountant or local tax authority.

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