The 1893 Proof Sovereign and 1893 Proof Half Sovereign shown above were struck as Coins of Record at the Melbourne Mint.

Naturally heirloom-worthy, the pair offers rarity you can’t replicate. The pair is unique.

Individually the coins have esteemed qualities.

The 1893 Proof Sovereign represents the first year of the Veiled Head Design. The coin is rare, one of two known.

The 1893 Proof Half Sovereign also represents the first year of the Veiled Head design. It is unique. There is one other aspect to the half sovereign that gives it an elite status, it is a proof striking of Australia's rarest circulating half sovereign, the 1893 Half Sovereign. The Proof 1930 Penny, the Proof 1923 Half Penny, the 1920 Specimen Sovereign. Coins of Record of rare date circulating coins come in for extra attention.

The 1893 Proof Half Sovereign was always dear to Barrie Winsor's heart. 

Proof strikings of rare date coins have status. 

and important.  The coins are historically important, representing th0 first year of the Veiled Head design. The half sovereign in particular is a proof striking of Australia's rarest circulating half sovereign. The pair is unique. 

Both coins were acquired in 1999 by Barrie Winsor in a private treaty transaction from the UK Strauss Family Collection. Both coins were more than likely offered in 1903, as part of the Murdoch Collection.

U.S. and European collectors view Australia's gold proof Coins of Record as opportunities. A recognition of their extreme scarcity and the view that they are offered infrequently and any sighting is an opportunity for purchase. 

Australian collectors also see the offering as an opportunity. With a bit of emotion thrown in. For the coins represent the nation's history. 

The Melbourne Mint began operating in 1872 and struck its first proof coin one year later, the coin retained within minting circles.  

The first proof coin out of this Young Head era to move into collectors circles was 1884. And repeated again in 1886 and 1886. The Young head era is a period of ... 

The Melbourne Mint was relatively prolific in the production of proof coins, primarily due to the influence of British collector, John G. Murdoch. The mint enjoyed a commercial relationship with Murdoch and by 1884, the mint was supplying (selling) him proofs. From 1888 until 1901, the end of the Veiled Head era, Murdoch received Melbourne Mint proofs of each year. And while the mintages remained minuscule, it is the regularity of the issues that is the defining difference between Melbourne Mint Coins of Record and those of the Perth and Sydney Mints. Proof coin production at the Melbourne Mint fell away in 1902, due to Murdoch's passing. 

The Melbourne Mint was a gold coin producer for sixty years (1872 - 1931) and struck Coins of Record in twenty-five of them, primarily in the fifteen years of the Jubilee and Veiled Head era. For collectors, the pool of representative examples of Melbourne Mint Coins of Record is in the vicinity of forty proof sovereigns and thirty proof half sovereigns. Still extremely modest, but this discussion is all about relativities. 

The Sydney Mint had no control over its proof strikings for the first sixteen years of its opening. Australia's Coins of Record featuring the Sydney Mint design were struck at the Royal Mint London in 1853, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1866 and 1870. The proximity to already established collector markets in the U.K. and Europe meant that the Sydney Mint proofs were traded commercially soon after they were struck.

The Half Sovereign was sold into 

They left the mint, as a pair, more than a century ago destined for the collection of revered British collector, John G. Murdoch. They are offered today as a pair, brilliantly preserved, for $150,000.

Naturally heirloom-worthy, the pair offers rarity you can’t replicate.

We have sold a handful of individual proof sovereigns out of this era. And even less proof half sovereigns. It is the only Melbourne Mint gold proof pair we have offered in fifty-four years of trading. And that’s a powerful statement given that this is an area of the rare coin market that is our strength. 

Today's collectors show a marked preference for pairs, if and when they are available. Or complete sequences or complete sets. The sentiment today is that while each coin should be individually savoured, it is but a moment in time. A complete set is the whole story.

And this principle is being consistently taken up and is noted in Coinworks sales. The Complete Kookaburra Collection sold within a few hours of its release. The 1901 Perth Mint Proofs sold as a pair for $525,000, the purchaser commenting that he would not have bought an individual coin because it was not the complete story. 

The same views were expressed by the purchaser of the 1871 Sydney Mint Proof Sovereign and Half Sovereign. "I will take both, and I wouldn't have taken just one''.

A single coin is a chapter. A complete set is the entire narrative and preserves the integrity of the Mint’s original intention of striking the sovereign and the half sovereign.  Furthermore, complete sets are naturally heirloom-worthy. They’re easier to pass down, easier to explain, and more likely to retain their identity over generations. Families understand the concept of the full set instantly.

Let's also be clear. There is a lot of money out there, waiting to be placed. And collectors with significant financial resources are looking to spend their money on an item that has substance. And pairs or sets have more substance than an individual coin.

The 1893 proofs come with an illustrious history, held by esteemed British collector, John G Murdoch. From a business that began manufacturing musical boxes, J. G. Murdoch’s company became a leader in the music industry, manufacturing pianos and organs. His successes provided him with the financial means of securing coins of the highest rarity and quality. An expansion of the provenance on both coins is detailed below.