Australian related COLONIAL, PROCLAMATION & CONVICT PERIOD
COINAGE,
circa 1650 - 1853 AD.

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Description

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If you wish to make a purchase, please send an email to  oldcoins@senet.com.au or telephone, Midday to 6pm AEST - Monday to Sunday, 08 8165 3446 to confirm your purchase.

If necessary, leave a phone message and a time to call and you will be answered. 

We know there are a lot of coins marked Sold in this section of the website. It is a popular area with collectors and authentic stock can be hard to get. Many of the coins marked as Sold are left there as a reference to collectors to give them an idea of the items available in this area of coinage.

The Australian Proclamation of 1800 fixed 11 world coin values in Australia at a higher value than overseas. This was an attempt to keep overseas coins in Australia. The coins mentioned in the Proclamation were: Portuguese Johanna & Half Johanna, Netherlands Ducat & Guilden, Indian Mohur, Pagoda & Rupee, Spanish Dollar, Great Britain Guinea, Shilling and Penny. These coins all had a higher value in Australia than elsewhere during the period 1800-1825. The Johanna and Half Johanna and the Spanish Dollars and Dutch guilders and Ducats were all widely traded world silver or gold trade coinage of the period. Fractionals of the above mentioned coins were eagerly accepted. The Australian Proclamation coinage values were repealed by the Monetary Act of 1825, following the introduction of quantities of British coins produced after 1816. British coins of nearly any denomination available were traded in Australia during the Proclamation period, 1788 - 1825 and most were readily accepted as currency right up to about 1920, after which British silver coins began to have considerably less silver content than Australian coins.

Transportation of convicts to Australia began with the first fleet in 1788 and ended with the coming of the Gold Rush in the early 1850s. Transportation was, in fact, another version of slavery and many were harshly sentenced for comparatively minor crimes. It was a source of cheap labour and a chance for England to rid itself of excess population, caused in part by the Industrial Revolution.  

Aust

Photocopies of the chapter of "Proclamation" coins 1788-1825, by Greg McDonald  (Australia's foremost numismatic author). His highly informative and well researched 10 page essay reproduced here for your education on this fascinating series. Prices are WAY out of date (written 1991) but the background info is fascinating.  Post included. OTHER  McDonald Publications available - please ask.

$10        

 for         

10          

page      

essay    

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Silver Pieces of eight or Spanish 8 reales and their fractions, were traded widely between 1550 and 1850 and adopted as currency by a number of countries including Australia... Machine made pieces of eight or dollars were legal tender in Australia, 1788-1825. Spanish gold coins also circulated widely during this period.

$         

SPAINISH Dollars or "Pieces of Eight"       $
SPAIN - 1757 Charles III Mexico Pillar Half Dollar or "Piece of Four" Much scarcer than the 8 reales coins, KM 95. Very Fine.      $495
SPAIN - 1769 Charles III Mexico Pillar Dollar or "Piece of Eight" A few of the usual small merchant chop marks, Very Fine.      $550
SPAIN - 1770 Charles III Mexico Pillar Dollar or "Piece of Eight" With one small Chinese merchant or chop mark, which happened quite often with this series. Variable strike, Fine.       $350

1813Australia Holey Dollar and Dump, modern copies. The first coin types made in Australia from Spanish silver dollars. Originals in better grade cost $100,000+.      Sold
Spanish & Portugese coins from the Proclamation period.
Johanna Brass Guinea weight.
27mm diameter, thick flan, used for checking the weights of Johanna coins.
        $30
Portugal, Brazil, 1730M Gold Johanna.
John V (1706-1750), gold 12800 Reis, Minas Gerais mint. Lightly wiped, EF and well struck. 28.60g. KM-139, Fr 55. Rare & impressive large size gold coin, the king of the Australian proclamation series.

     Sold
Portugal, Brazil, Maria I Gold 6400 reis or Half Johanna, 1791 R.  
Rio mint. 13.79. KM-218.1, Fr 86. With lustre,
Extremely Fine.
    $2250
Netherlands coins from the Proclamation period.

NETHERLANDS. 1701 Utrecht, Silver Guilder, KM 102.1. Crowned arms rev standing female leaning on column holding pole with cap. Fine. 

    $100

NETHERLANDS. 1714 Holland, Silver Guilder, Crowned arms rev standing female leaning on column holding pole with cap.KM 63. aVF. 

    $165

NETHERLANDS. 1735 Zeeland, Silver Ducat, struck on oversized flan. Delm 976. Good Fine. 

     $375

NETHERLANDS. 1762 Holland, Silver Guilder, Crowned arms rev standing female leaning on column holding pole with cap. KM-73. Very Fine. 

     $195

NETHERLANDS. 1762 Gelderland, Silver Guilder, Crowned arms rev standing female leaning on column holding pole with cap. A few old marks, Good Fine. 

    $150

NETHERLANDS. HOLLAND. 1780 Gold Ducat. 22mm, 3.45 grams. KM-12.3. Extremely Fine. Famous trade coinage.

    Sold

NETHERLANDS. 1792 West Friesland, Silver Guilder, Crowned arms rev standing female leaning on column holding pole with cap. KM-97.5. Good Very Fine. 

    $295
NETHERLANDS. 1795 Holland, Silver Guilder, Crowned arms rev standing female leaning on column holding pole with cap. KM-8.2. Toned, About Very Fine.     $100

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INDIAN coins traded as legal tender in Australia during this period 1800-1825

   Aust     

INDIA, Mughal, Ahmad Shah Bahadur, (AH.1161-1167, A.D.1748-1754), silver rupee, (11.21 g), Akbarabad Mint, RY 2, AH [1162], (KM.446.2);  gVF.
     $75
INDIA, Aziz ud-Din Alamgir II, (AH 1167-173, A.D. 1754-1759), silver rupee (11.29 g), Muhammadabad Banaras Mint, RY 3, AH 1170, (KM.460.6). gVF      $75
INDIA, 1754-1760 period silver rupee. East India Company, Bombay Presidency, in the name of Aziz-ud-din Alamgir II, (A.H. 1167-1173, 1754-1759), silver rupee, (11.51 g), from of the Mumbai mint, with star symbol above mint, RY5 frozen date, [AD 1760], (KM.32). Toned, nearly very fine and rare, with collector's descriptive flip.       $95

INDIA, EIC, Bombay Presidency, in the name of Aziz-ud-din Alamgir II, (A.H. 1167-1173, 1754-1759), silver rupee, (11.46 g), from of the Mumbai mint, but struck in Calcutta for Malabar Coast, RY1, [AD 1754], (KM.-, Stevens 7.18, Pridmore 294, BMC 79). Bright, very fine or better, with collector's descriptive flip.

     $135
INDIA, East India Company, Benghal Presidency, 1759-1806, silver rupee, frozen date (1793) Toned, Good Very Fine. Indian rupees were often used  as currency in early Australia.    $150

INDIA, East India Company, Bombay  Presidency, 1800-1824, silver rupees,  Toned, Very Fine. Indian rupees were often used  as currency in early Australia.     $75
     ea.

INDIA, Madras Presidency, East India Company, gold star pagoda, (1740-1807) 12mm, 3.36 grams. KM #303. Good Extremely Fine.      
   
Sold
  
India. Gold Mohur of the Benghal Presidency 1793. East India Company Gold Mohur, 26mm, 12.36 grams. Murshidabad (Calcutta) mint. Dated AH 1202; RY 19 of Shah Alam II Couplet in five lines; AH date in lower field; mint secret mark present / “Struck Murshidabad year 19 of reign associated with prosperity” in Arabic. Edge: grained left. KM 102. Fully lustrous, UNC.    $2250


India. Gold Mohur of the Benghal Presidency 1793. East India Company Gold Mohur, 26mm, 12.36 grams. Murshidabad (Calcutta) mint. Dated AH 1202; RY 19 of Shah Alam II Couplet in five lines; AH date in lower field; mint secret mark present / “Struck Murshidabad year 19 of reign associated with prosperity” in Arabic. Edge: grained left. KM 102. Slabbed by PCGS as MS 64. Fully lustrous, UNC.    $2950

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BRITISH Coins from the c1700-1825 period. These were the most often encountered in Colonial Australia and most were legal tender up to 1910 and indeed, many were used in Australia up to the 1960s. 

Listed in denomination value descending from 1 Guinea.  See our "Machine Made coins circa 1650-1950" section of this website for many more British coins circa 1650s to 20th century.

 Aust      

GB George III 1772 Brass Guinea Weight. 18mm, brass, with counterstamp.

   $50
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Guinea & Johanna coin weights in brass from George II & George III period. 

From the "First World War" c 1670-1815 where England, Holland, France & Spain fought for domination of the New World.

   Aust

GB 18th century Half  Johanna coin weight for 36 shillings.  In brass, 24mm diameter, VF.

      $30

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British coins from crown to penny, 1662-1825. These were what was mostly traded in colonial Australia. Many more British coins available in the "Machine Made Coins" section of this website. Medals of relevance to the period listed first, then listed in order of denomination descending from Crown to sixpence.

$          

GB. Sir Joseph Banks 1820.  (38mm, 32 g). Silver Prize medal, uninscribed, bearing a fine portrait of Joseph Banks, with a rich antique tone. Extremely Fine.    $100
GB. Sir Joseph Banks 1820.  (38mm, 32 g). Silver Prize medal,  bearing a fine portrait of Joseph Banks, with antique tone. Inscribed F.Ducane Godman Esq FRS. Rhododendrons Feb 28th 1905. Extremely Fine.

Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS (13 February 1743 – 19 June 1820) was an British naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage (1768–1771). Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa, and the genus named after him, Banksia. Approximately 80 species of plants bear Banks's name. Banks was also the leading founder of the African Association, a British organization dedicated to the exploration of Africa, and a member of the Society of Dilettanti, which helped to establish the Royal Academy.  
It was Banks's own time in Australia, however, that led to his interest in the British colonisation of that continent. He was to be the greatest proponent of settlement in New South Wales, as is hinted by its early colloquial name, Botany Bay. The identification might have been even closer, as the name "Banksia" was proposed for the region by Linnaeus. In the end a genus of Proteaceae was named in his honour as Banksia.  

In 1779 Banks, giving evidence before a committee of the House of Commons, had stated that in his opinion the place most eligible for the reception of convicts "was Botany Bay, on the coast of New Holland". His interest did not stop there, for when the settlement was made, and for 20 years afterwards, his fostering care and influence was always being exercised. He was in fact the general adviser to the government on all Australian matters. He arranged that a large number of useful trees and plants should be sent out in the supply ship Guardian which, however, was wrecked, and every vessel that came from New South Wales brought plants or animals or geological and other specimens to Banks. He was continually called on for help in developing the agriculture and trade of the colony, and his influence was used in connection with the sending out of early free settlers, one of whom, a young gardener George Suttor, afterwards wrote a memoir of Banks. The three early governors, Arthur Phillip, John Hunter, and Philip Gidley King, were continually in correspondence with him. He was interested in the explorations of Matthew Flinders, George Bass and Lieutenant James Grant, and among his paid helpers were George Caley, Robert Brown and Allan Cunningham.  
     $120


GB. George III. 1760-1820. Silver Emergency Issue  Dollar. Oval countermark in the centre of obverse of Charles IIII Mexico Mint eight reales, 1792, Fine, some marks, scarce.

In the late 18th century, the circulating coinage in Britain was in a pathetic state. Counterfeit coins, both in copper and silver, were the rule, rather than the exception. The Royal mint, rather than competing with the flood of false issues, simply shut its doors.
In 1788, industrialist Matthew Boulton stepped in to attempt reform the copper coinage where the government would not. A wealthy industrialist and partner of the steam-engine inventor James Watt, Boulton had made his fortune manufacturing other small metallic objects. Using the steam technology at his disposal, he created the first modern mint at Soho in Birmingham. Yet Boulton was initially unable to obtain a patent to strike coinage and instead opened his mint to merchants. The vast majority of provincial tokens struck in England at this time originated from the Soho mint
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Meanwhile, the Bank of England endeavored to stabilize the silver coinage. Taking Spanish eight reales coins, they stamped on them a small image of King George, valuing them at a dollar or five shillings. This simple solution did not fare well with the public; the silver value of these coins being only about 4s and 4d. The failed issue spawned a popular rhyme, “The Bank to make their Spanish dollars pass, stamped the head of a fool on the neck of an ass.” The Bank soon turned to Boulton and his steam presses. By 1805, fully struck 1804 dollars from the Soho mint could be seen in change.
     $950

GB. George III. 1804 Five Shillings Bank of England Crown. S 3768, overstruck on Spanish 8 reales coin, VF/aVF.

     $425

GB. George III. 1804 Five Shillings Bank of England Crown. S 3768. Golden Grey tone, overstruck on Spanish 8 reales coin, Good Very Fine.

     $495

GB. George III. 1812 Three Shilling Bank Token. S 3770. Laureate Head, pleasing antique tone, Good Very Fine.

    $225

GB. George III. 1811 1/6d Bank Token. S 3771. Bust draped in armour type, Very Fine.

    $100

GB. George III. 1815 1/6d Bank Token. Laureate Head. S 3772. Attractive  old tone, gVF.

     $125

GB. George III. 1787 Shilling. 
S 3746. Near Extremely Fine.

    $165

GB. George III. 1787 Sixpence. 
S 3749, with semee of hearts, near EF.

    $100

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Official Great Britain copper coins from George I, II & III circulated very widely in Australia and America, pre 1825. 1797 Cartwheel pennies and 2d were much used and some were defaced as a sign of anger towards Geo III, some were made into smugglers coins, some into love tokens, also they were often used as weights, as they weighed exactly 1 oz for the 1d and 2 oz for the 2d. The penny forms part of the Australian Proclamation Coin series used 1800-1825 period.

       $       

Click small photo to see larger photo.Australian convict and colonial era small change coinage, c 1788-1830s period pennies, halfpennies, farthings.        $

GB. 1797. Cartwheel Twopenny. 

S 3776. Better than average, sharp detail, EF for type.

The first coins made in Great Britain using the steam press by Watt & Boulton and historically interesting as such. Could be used as a weight, the 1d weighs 1oz and the 2d is 2 oz. Could be used as a measure. Were unpopular as currency because of their weight. Used in Colonial Australia & 18th early 19th century America.
    Sold
GB. George III 1797 Cartwheel Penny.  S 3777. Australian Proclamation coin, decent detail for type, most come along well worn, Very Fine.
First coins made in Great Britain using the steam press by Watt & Boulton and historically interesting as such. Could be used as a weight, the 1d weighs 1oz and the 2d is 2 oz. Could be used as a measure. Were unpopular as currency because of their weight. Used in Colonial Australia & 18th early 19th century America.
      Sold
GB. George III 1806 Penny.  S 3780. Australian Proclamation period coin, VF/gVF.$50

GB. George III Bronze Coins.
1799 Halfpenny, S3778, Fine $25
1799 Halfpenny, S3778, Very Fine Sold
1799 Halfpenny, S3778, gVF $40
1806 Halfpenny, S3781, gF $15 
1807 Penny, S3780, aF Sold
1807 Halfpenny, S3781, gF $20
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Convict and other colonial period related items.

GB, CAPTAIN JAMES COOK. 1784 Bronze medal by Pingo. 43mm. (MH 374, BHM 258, Eimer 780) Extremely Fine and rare, only 577 made, sold at the time of minting for Half a Guinea (10s 6d)
James Cook had first seen the Americas when, as a Master of the Mercury he surveyed the St Lawrence River as part of General Wolf's Expedition to capture Quebec. He continued to serve on the North American station until 1767. He twice circumnavigated the world, first in 1768-71 and later 1772-1775. Discovered the east coast of Australia in 1770. He had left on his 3rd voyage in 1776 and was killed by natives of the Sandwich islands in 1779. The Royal Society issued this medal in 1784 in the following quantities - Gold 19, Silver 291 and Bronzed Copper 577.
   Sold

Convict perid. 1823 Van Diemens Land one shilling banknote. 
Currency Note, John Weavell, one shilling, Hobart Town (Dec 1) 182(3) No (53) (MVR fig. 172). Struck down to backing paper, horizontal tear right across, frail edge, otherwise good and nearly a full note and very rare.
Ex Spink Australia, sale 1, lot 92, 1977, also a bit of numismatic history there, from the first sale made in Australia by Jim Noble, all those years ago.. 46 years later, he and Colin are still flying the flag for numismatics in Australia. National treasures they both are..
  $995
Convict: Van Diemen's Land:
1850s Ticket of Leave (a pass to allow convict to travel between his place of work & designated destination) issued by Police Office in closest town. Original unissued form printed in black on wove paper with counterfoil. Approx 110 x 200mm. Minor ageing, gVF. Scarce.
  $250
Convict. 1853 Cessation of Transportation medal.  White metal, 58mm, Carlisle 1853/2. Rim bump at top, VF.   $325
Convict. 1853 Cessation of Transportation medal.  White metal, 58mm, Carlisle 1853/2. Reverse toned, gVF.   $375
 

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