News & Views

Three rare Australian coins fetched almost $900,000 at Coinworks Eminent Colonials Auction - taking out two world records in the process.

The Auction conducted on 27 August 2012 was aptly named “Eminent Colonials”.

It would be impossible to find a more celebrated example of Australia’s first colonial coin, the 1810 Hannibal Head Holey Dollar, offered as lot 1.

The coin lived up to its ‘star status’ selling for $410,000: a world record price.

The highest price previously paid for a Holey Dollar was in 2008, when a high quality Potosi Mint example sold for $267,950.

The word eminent probably falls short of describing the finest example of the 1852 Adelaide Pound, offered as Lot 2 of the Eminent Colonials Auction.

The subject of solid postal and room bidding the Adelaide Pound sold for a world record price of $370,000.

The highest price previously paid for an Adelaide Pound was in 2005, when the Eliasberg Adelaide Pound sold in New York for $130,000.

It’s very easy to go overboard with the superlatives when it comes to describing a top quality coin. The extraordinary nature of this Adelaide Pound was summed up in post-auction discussions when retired dealer Barrie Winsor described it  as the equivalent of a proof striking.

Lot 3, the Colonial Dump sold for $100,000. As the third in line, after the Holey Dollar and the Adelaide Pound, the Dump fell short in engaging the bidding audience. And while the price was a fair way below estimate, the subdued result does not denigrate the piece but affirms the potential of auctions to unleash a bargain.

The Eminent Colonials Auction was a win-win. The buyers were ecstatic, the vendors were happy - and truly beautiful quality coins sold for very exciting prices.