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1852 Adelaide One Pound, Type I, one of three known at this choice quality level.


1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-Rev-July-2020
1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-Obv-July-2020
1852 Adelaide One Pound, Type I, one of three known at this choice quality level.
COIN
1852 Adelaide One Pound, Type I, one of three known at this choice quality level.
PRICE
$450,000
STATUS
AVAILABLE NOW
QUALITY
Uncirculated with a solid strike and lustrous surfaces on both obverse and reverse
PROVENANCE
Barrie Winsor Collection • The Madrid Collection of Australian Rare Coins.
COMMENTS
Numismatics verges on the miraculous when considered in the context of this stunningly beautiful 1852 Adelaide One Pound Type I. The strike is remarkable, the edges particularly strong as is the crown and the reverse lettering. And that’s a miracle given the chaos that we know occurred during the first production run of coins at the Adelaide Assay Office. The fields are lustrous, the coin brilliantly preserved, also a miracle. It is hard to fathom how a coin that was intended for circulation can survive in this state. Plucked off the production line is the only possible answer.
1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-Obv-July-2020
Enquire Now
29758-SQ-1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-Rev-TECH-September-2024

Uncirculated 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I,
the reverse die featuring the beaded inner circle.

29758-SQ-1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-September-2024

Uncirculated 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I,
the reverse die featuring the beaded inner circle.

29758-SQ-1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-Rev-TECH-September-2024

Uncirculated 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I,
a beautiful strike and lustrous fields

29758-SQ-1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-September-2024

Uncirculated 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I,
a beautiful strike and lustrous fields

This 1852 Adelaide Pound was struck in the very first production run of the nation’s first gold coin. We know this because the coin was struck with the beaded reverse die. It is referred to as the Type I Adelaide Pound.

Today there are about forty coins out of the first run available to collectors and of those, only three examples are known at this quality level, and this coin is one of them.

Adelaide Assay Office

Government Assay Office Adelaide.

29758-SQ-1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-Rev-TECH-September-2024

Uncirculated 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, one of three known at this supreme quality level. 

29758-SQ-1852-Adelaide-Pound-Cracked-Die-September-2024

Uncirculated 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, with exceptional strength in the edges, legend and the crown.


In our experience, there are three known examples in the upper quality levels.

• The Madrid Collection 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, an Uncirculated and lustrous example from the Madrid Collection of Australian Rare Coins with strong definition in the edges and the crown. The coin offered here.

• The Nobleman 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, a superb mint state example of the Type I Adelaide Pound.

• The Mortimer Hammel 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, a lustrous Brilliant Uncirculated example.

28935-62677-Nobleman-1852-Adelaide-Pound-May-2024

Nobleman Type 1  Adelaide Pound
Sold 2023

28935-Hammel-1852-Adelaide-Pound-May-2024

Hammel Type I Adelaide Pound 
Sold 2019

29758-Madrid-1852-Adelaide-Pound-May-2024

Madrid Type I Adelaide Pound
  Available now

In our experience, there are only three known examples in the upper quality levels.

• The Madrid Collection 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, an Uncirculated and lustrous example from the Madrid Collection of Australian Rare Coins with strong definition in the edges and the crown. The coin offered here.

• The Nobleman 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, a superb mint state example of the Type I Adelaide Pound.

• The Mortimer Hammel 1852 Adelaide Pound Type I, a lustrous Brilliant Uncirculated example.

28935-62677-Nobleman-1852-Adelaide-Pound-May-2024

Nobleman Type 1  Adelaide Pound
Sold 2023

28935-Hammel-1852-Adelaide-Pound-May-2024

Hammel Type I Adelaide Pound 
Sold 2019

29758-Madrid-1852-Adelaide-Pound-May-2024

Madrid Type I Adelaide Pound
  Available now


Australia’s first gold coin, a One Pound, was struck on 23 September 1852 at the Government Assay Office in Adelaide, South Australia. The first production run of Adelaide Pounds, used an obverse die with a crown and a reverse die with a simple, elegant beaded inner circle. (Shown above)

During the first run, pressure was applied to the edges to ensure that the denticles and the legend were strong. About fifty coins were produced before a crack developed in the die, forcing an interruption to production and the hasty preparation of a replacement die.

Feeling the strain to resume production, Joshua Payne opted for a simpler version of the reverse die, the legend and value in plain lettering. He also changed the design of the inner border, duplicating that already in place on the crown side.

Production was resumed with the second die and a further 24,000-plus coins minted, referred to as the Type II One Pounds.

By using two different dies, Joshua Payne clearly distinguished between those coins struck in the modest first run. And those from the more substantial second run.

And in so doing created a rarity of the highest order. The Gold One Pound struck during the very first production run of the nation's first gold coin, better known as the Type I Adelaide One Pound.

What we know today is that less than forty Type I Adelaide One Pounds are in collector’s hands.

And perhaps six times that figure of the Type II examples. Both rare. But the Type I One Pound excruciatingly rare. And this example, one of the finest of them all.

The enormity of this offer cannot be overstated.

This coin was never given kid gloves treatment during the production process. It was struck in what can only be described as a factory, hammered out and hurled down an assembly line, more than likely into a barrel or bucket.

How this coin survived the production process, and more than one hundred and seventy years later still be in a pristine original state is impossible to fathom.

This is a unique opportunity to acquire an inspiring example of Australia's very first gold coin, offered at a spectacular quality level.


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