Lot 879
Australia - South Australia. Pound, 1852 (Adelaide). Fr-3; FKM-2. Type 2. Victoria, 1837-1901. Royal crown, date below, dentillated and beaded bordes around. Reverse: Value in three lines, date below, dentillated and beaded bordes around; outer legend with weight in grains and pennyweight, "22 CARATS" below. Extremely Rare, more so in this grade. NGC graded MS-64.
The discovery of gold in Australia was a period of incredible social and economic upheaval. Ironically the discovery of gold almost sent the colony into poverty as industry and commerce fell to its knees as laborers, clerks and anyone else with a shovel, pan and glint in their eye rushed to the diggings.
It was a time of frantic pace where many decisions - including that of making coins - had to be made there on the spot, with little regard to the usual red tape. And so we have an interesting situation where the first indigenous gold coins were, strictly speaking, illegal issues. The cutting of red tape to get them circulated as soon as possible meant circumventing Royal approval. Then, as now, the issuing of coinage without official approval is illegal.
The first gold "coinage" looked anything like coins in the true sense. In fact they were simply strips of stamped gold which came to be known as Adelaide Ingots. They came into being as a result of gold being found at Mount Alexander in the Castlemaine district of Victoria.
When word of the strike reached Adelaide, some 500 km to the west, the rush was on. In the following three months nearly half of South Australia's male population were trying their luck. A labor starved Adelaide was on the brink of bankruptcy when about 50,000 pounds worth of gold arrived, for assaying back in the capital, from the diggings.
The Adelaide Pound was the very first Gold Coin struck on Australian soil, directly from the nuggets & dust unearthed by the diggers in Ballarat & Bendigo. All examples are quite rare, with just 20 of Type I in existence, and perhaps 200 Type II's. Much sought after by collectors and investors.
Estimated Value $40,000 - 50,000.
Illustrated in Money of The World, coin 136.
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| Realized $80,500 |
