1852 Adelaide Pound Type II, the coin that sat alongside the famous Nobleman Type I Adelaide Pound
This 1852 Adelaide Pound is ascribed the higher quality ranking of Choice Uncirculated and is one of the top examples of the nation’s first gold coin. The addition of the word ‘choice’ takes a coin to a quality level rarely seen when discussing circulating currency and one of the highest quality rankings available to collectors. To warrant such a grading the coin has to be brilliantly preserved with lots of eye appeal. And the strike has to be powerful. This Adelaide Pound has both. The coin retains its original brilliance and is highly lustrous. The reverse in particular is quite magnificent. And the design has been brilliantly executed, the edges strong all the way around and the legend well defined, again all the way around (notorious areas of weakness in most Type II Adelaide Pounds). The crown has supremely-fine detail. The Adelaide Pound is a coin that will always be in favour. It is ‘gold’ after all, one of our most popular collecting metals. The coin appeals to all age-groups, including the younger generation, and that augurs well for its future.
The Adelaide One Pound is the nation’s first gold coin, struck in 1852 at the South Australian Government Assay Office, Adelaide.
Local jeweler and engraver Joshua Payne created the dies for the nation's first gold coins.
The obverse declared the issuing authority, Government Assay Office Adelaide, encircling a crown and the date, 1852, the design used continuously throughout production. The reverse declared the fineness and weight encircling it's value.
With its fine design detail, the Adelaide Pound is compelling and a piece of significance, its status as the nation's first gold coin ensuring that it will never be forgotten.
And it is extremely rare with less than forty examples surviving from the first production run and perhaps two hundred and fifty from the second.
Either first or second run, the Adelaide Pound is a prized possession, an iconic gold coin revered by local and international buyers.
1852 Adelaide Pound Type II
1852 Adelaide Pound Type II
History records that disaster struck during the early stages of the minting of the 1852 Adelaide Pound.
Die-maker and engraver Joshua Payne later confirmed that staff had struggled to find the correct pressure levels to exert on the dies to execute a strong overall design.
In the early stages of production, pressure was applied to the edges to ensure that the denticles and legend were strong. The downside to this decision is that excessive pressure applied to the edges cracked the reverse die, forcing an interruption to minting.
The upside to this decision is that Adelaide Pounds struck during the first production run have almost picture-perfect edges and beautiful strong denticles.
Relaxing the pressure on the dies in the second production run, lengthened the die usage but created its own shortcomings. Once the pressure was reduced on the edges, the perfection that was achieved in the denticles and legend in the first run of coins was simply not achievable in the second run.
Adelaide Pounds from the second production run notoriously have weakness in the edges and weakness in the legend, most particularly in the Assay Office area. And this is noted in about nine out of every ten examples. But, the crown design will invariably be well executed with flattened areas mainly due to circulation. (Flattened areas may also reflect die usage and be due to a poor strike.)
This Type II 1852 Adelaide Pound has a beautiful balance of strong edge denticles, strong legend and a brilliantly struck crown. It is the exception to those most frequently sighted.
Choice Uncirculated 1852 Adelaide Pound struck using the second reverse die featuring a scalloped inner border (Type II)
Price; $75,000
This 1852 Adelaide Pound is ascribed the higher quality ranking of Choice Uncirculated and is one of the best examples of the nation’s first gold coin.
The addition of the word ‘choice’ takes a coin to a quality level rarely seen when discussing circulating currency and one of the highest quality rankings available in numismatics.
To warrant that grading the coin has to be brilliantly preserved with lots of eye appeal. And the strike has to be powerful.
This Adelaide Pound has both.
The coin retains its original brilliance and is highly lustrous. The reverse in particular is magnificent. And the design has been brilliantly executed, the edges strong all the way around and the legend well defined, again all the way around (notorious areas of weakness in most Type II Adelaide Pounds). The crown has supremely-fine detail.
The Adelaide Pound is a coin that will always be in favour. It is ‘gold’ after all, one of our most popular collecting metals. The coin appeals to all age-groups, including the younger generation, and that augurs well for its future.
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