Unique in the Perth Mint's coining heritage, a pairing of Proof Sovereign and Proof Half Sovereign issued in 1901, Australia's Federation year.
This is a generational wealth opportunity. A unique proof coin pairing, issued by the Perth Mint in an historically defining year.
Over its one hundred-and twenty-six-year minting history, from the day it opened on 20 June 1899 until this very day, the Perth Mint has, only once, produced a pairing of a proof sovereign and a proof half sovereign.
The year was '1901'. Australia's year of Federation. And only one pair, out of the original mintage, survives today.
Records indicate that the Museum of Victoria and the British Museum are the only institutions to hold Perth Mint Coins of Record, each having an 1899 Sovereign and 1901 Half Sovereign.
No pairs are held in any institutions worldwide, including the Perth Mint.
This unique Perth Mint 1901 Proof Sovereign and 1901 Proof Half Sovereign is held by a Melbourne collector, and is now offered for private sale.
The 1901 Proof Half Sovereign captured the attention of the international coin community as early as March 1903, when British collector John G. Murdoch sold his collection of Australian proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns through Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, London.
The Australian section of Murdoch's collection was comprised predominantly of Coins of Record struck at the Melbourne Mint and a small number of Sydney Mint pieces. Murdoch's collection also held a smattering of Perth Mint Coins of Record, two 1899 Sovereigns (lot 645 and 648) and two 1901 Sovereigns (lot 648 and 650) and two 1901 Proof Half Sovereigns (Lot 650).
Archival records indicate that the Perth Mint had supplied the Melbourne Mint with two 1901 Proof Sovereigns and four 1901 Proof Half Sovereigns on 11 October 1901. Both sovereigns and two out of the four half sovereigns were believed sold to collector, John G. Murdoch.
Sotheby's auction catalogue records that lot 650, containing the two 1901 Proof Half Sovereigns, was acquired by legendary British collector, Reginald Huth, an acknowledgment that just two years after its striking, the half sovereign was already an acclaimed 'great' coin rarity.
When a high profile collector targets a coin, the market, both collectors and dealers alike, take note. And search for the reasons why. The market took note in 1903 that a 'great' collector had acquired a 'great' piece, a phenomenon that still exists to this very day.
The quality of the strike, a superb FDC, would have appealed to Huth. But he would also have been familiar with its importance.
Collecting and minting circles were very much interconnected in the twentieth century and he would have been aware that no circulating half sovereigns were struck by any of the Australian mints in 1901, due to the death of Queen Victoria early in that year (January 22, 1901).
So, the proof strike was the only representative example of a half sovereign dated 1901, issued by the Perth Mint.
The 1901 Proof Half Sovereign, ex Murdoch and Reginald Huth, was offered in Sydney by Spink Auctions Australia, the coin acquired by Barrie Winsor for $21,700 on a pre-sale estimate of $15,000. Again the same scenario of a 'great' coin going to a 'great' numismatist.
1901 Proof Sovereign
Perth Mint Coin of Record
1901 Proof Sovereign
Perth Mint Coin of Record
1901 Proof Half Sovereign
Perth Mint Coin of Record
1901 Proof Half Sovereign
Perth Mint Coin of Record
While the Perth Mint's 1901 Proof Half Sovereign has always drawn attention on the few occasions that it has been offered, a Perth Mint 1901 Proof Sovereign was the highlight of the November 2021 Sincona Auction in Zurich. One of two known examples, the coin set a new auction record selling for nearly twice that of a comparable Melbourne Mint 1898 Proof Sovereign.
Both coins are rare, so the obvious question is why the difference?
The value of a coin is impacted by its original mintage and the number of examples available to collectors out in the market place. That is only logical. The more examples out there, the lower the value. A simple enactment of supply and demand.
The 1901 is known by two examples. But so is the 1898!
The value placed on a coin will also be influenced by the number of 'similar' pieces that are available to collectors. Again its logical, and it is particularly applicable to those collectors that are not fussed by dates and simply crave a particular design.
We see this quite clearly in the Coins of Record struck at the Melbourne Mint during the Veiled Head era, 1893 to 1901. If you are not fussed by the year, a collector can opt for any of the dates, subject to availability of course, to obtain a Proof Sovereign or Half Sovereign featuring the Veiled Head design. The very reason why the 1898 Proof Sovereign reached a ceiling of $100,000. The price was an acknowledgement of its rarity. That it did not go higher also acknowledges the availability of other dates, that an alternative date could be acquired in a few years time. (The Melbourne Mint struck proofs every year during the Veiled Head era of 1893 to 1901.)
There are no such luxuries for collectors of Perth Mint Coins of Record. In the Australian rare coin market, the Perth Mint Gold 'Coins of Record' is the most difficult area to buy into.
Over thirty-three years of gold coining production, the Perth Mint struck Coins of Record in only three years, 1899 (its opening year), 1901 and 1931 (final year of sovereign production).
We have looked at the numbers that are available to collectors in each of these years, 1899, 1901 and 1931 and have come up with a total buying pool of seven coins (six if you invoke quality into the selection process), the availability noted below after the bullet point.
1899 Specimen Sovereign • 1
1899 Specimen Half Sovereign • 1
1901 Proof Sovereign • 2
1901 Proof Half Sovereign • 1
1931 Proof Sovereign • 2 (one impaired through mishandling)
The gold Coins of Record of the Perth Mint have influence, power, and a world-wide reputation as the least available sector of the entire Australian rare coin market. Each coin is historic. Many are unique.
On the very few occasions that a Perth Mint gold proof or specimen strike has become available, London 1903, Sydney 1985, Sydney 1989 and Zurich 2021, history shows us that the market the world-over takes a keen interest.
1901 Perth Mint Proof Sovereign, brilliant and frosted FDC
Price $250,000
One of two known, the other known example selling at Sincona Auction, Zurich, November 2021.
Two 1901 Proof Sovereigns were held in the Murdoch Collection and sold in London in 1903 by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge (lots 648 and 650).
This 1901 Proof Sovereign was sold at Spink Auctions Australia in 1985 (lot 1047) and is currently held by a Melbourne collector. The other known example was offered at Sincona Auction, Zurich November 2021 (lot 892).
Both coins are assumed to have come from the Murdoch Collection, sold in 1903 in London, Sotheby Wilkinson & Hodge.
1901 Perth Mint Proof Half Sovereign, brilliant and frosted FDC
Price $300,000
The only known example held by a private collector
A great rarity, the Perth Mint's 1901 Proof Half Sovereign is the only representative example of a half sovereign struck in the final year of Queen Victoria’s reign. No circulating half sovereigns were issued at any of the Australian mints in 1901 due to the death of Queen Victoria in January of the same year.
Two 1901 Proof Half Sovereigns were held in the Murdoch Collection, sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge in London, 1903 (lot 650). Acquired by Reginald Huth and later S A H Whetmore, one of the coins eventually sold at Spink Auctions, Australia 1985 (lot 1048) and is currently held by a Melbourne collector.
The other 1901 Proof Half Sovereign offered in 1903 by auctioneers Sotheby Wilkinson & Hodge is housed in the British Museum by way of the Clarke-Thornhill bequest of 1935.
Highlights of Coinworks Inventory
© Copyright: Coinworks
