Why Coins?
Throughout the ages, gold in particular has been a store of value. It can be used as a common unit by which people could use to trade, no matter what language or denomination.
Rare and historic coins have both a fascinating individual history, but have also been an appreciating asset, and can form part of your personal savings or superannuation fund.
Greek, Roman & Byzantine
Gold coins were first minted by the Greeks approx some 500 years BC, however production really stepped up in Alexander the Great's time, some 330 years BC as a requirement to pay his troops in their many conquests. Indeed the Romans 100 BC probably had a similar need to feed and cloth their armies and gives rise to the large amount of Roman coins found throughout Europe.
Coin production continued for the next 400 years with famous emperors such as Nero and Caesar appearing on them. Constantine The Great then moved the capital of the Roman empire to Constantinople which adopted his name in 330 AD and the Byzantine or East Roman empire began.
The gradual collapse of the Roman empire started during the 7th century and began the era of the so called Dark Ages. This led to a rapid deterioration in the quality of coins especially those made of gold which did not again see wide-scale general use until the Crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries. Between 800 AD and 1200 AD the only real coins in circulation were the silver denarius's, which is where the "d" comes from in £, s, d.
The Fourth Cursade ending in 1204 saw the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders effectively ending the Byzantine Empire and by default creating Venice as the crossroads for Mediterranean trade. In 1285 the first Ducat was struck there and continued until the fall of the Venetian Repbulic in 1797.
Hammered Coins
By the 1300's Venice had established itself as the world's main gold market with ducats universally accepted as British sovereigns were 600 years later. The Crusades had brought pilgrims and traders in their wake and allowed the interchange of gold which Europe sought, and silver which was always in demand in the East
France produced a hammered gold coin, the ecu for general circulation in 1337 and England followed in 1344 with the noble. Gold had once again become the choice medium of trade. Indeed one of these coins called "Franc A Cheval" was minted specifically to pay off the ransom for the captured Jean Le Bon of France to Edward III.
The 15th century saw gold bullion in short supply caused by numerous wars, bad harvests and the aftermath of the black death which virtually halved the population of some European countries.
During the reign of Edward IV new denominations appeared, the angel which saw St Michael spearing a dragon and a ryal or rose noble. The war of the roses finally ended in 1485 with Henry VII victorious at the battle of Bosworth. A new coin in 1489 was minted and was called a sovereign.
Henry VIII began a process of debasement where the pureness in his coins was substituted to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and wars with France. It was not until Elizabeth I's reign that the fineness was restored in the mid 1500's.
In defiance of Parliament Charles I ordered the minting of triple-unites weighing some 27 grammes when he had to establish his headquarters at Oxford and Shrewsbury in 1642-6. All Charles I coins are very collectable, as the only monarch to be beheaded, as are Oliver Cromwell coins during the short time England was a republic, 1649-60. The restoration of Charles II occured in 1660 and the ancient hammering process was discontinued.
Guineas
France first minted coins with a milled each in 1640 to stop so called "clipping". England soon adopted the same machine process in 1663 and these were called guineas as some of them were made from gold imported from Guinea by the African company. They had values of 100, 40, 20 and 10 shillings, and were to be the main coinage up until 1817 when they were replaced by the sovereign.
Guineas covered the reigns of Charles II, James II, William and Mary, Willian, Anne, George I, George II and George III, with many rarities, especially those having an elephand and castle mint mark associated with the African company. James II guineas are highly sought after as he was on the throne for only only 3 years, fleeing to France hounded out by the Protestants. Guineas only became more common under George III's reign, and indeed are also classed as one of the first Proclamation coins in New South Wales in 1800.
The rarest of all guineas have the Vigo mint mark on the Anne guineas which celebrated a successful Anglo/Dutch victory over the French/Spanish fleet in Vigo bay off Spain. The bullion that was captured was ceremonially brought back to London and coined under the then master of the mint Sir Isaac Newton. Other interesting mint marks which occured on George II guineas are the Lima, again coined from captured gold from two French ships transporting Peruvian gold and EIC which were guineas minted by the famous East India Company.
Sovereigns
In 1816 the milling process took another leap forward with the hand presses being superseded by steam powered minting machines. The guinea was replaced by the sovereign of 20 shillings and fireness of 22 carat under George III. Sovereigns today remain the gold standard of British coinage, and the sovereigns of George III, IV, William IV and early Victorian are eagerly sought after by collectors.
The 1850's saw huge gold discoveries in the Americas and Australia with the latter minting so-called Sydney sovereigns with a unique reverse from 1855-1870. After 1870 Melbourne joined Sydney minting imperial sovereigns and Perth joined in 1899, and all three of these have discreet mint marks on the coins.
It wasn't until World War I that there was a disruption in the suppply of sovereigns, and then the depression of the 1920's and 1930's saw sovereigns only produced in Australia. In fact a recent 1920 Sydney sovereign (of which only four are known in private hands) sold for A$500,000 plus commission. Coining stopped at Sydney in 1926 and Melbourne and Perth in 1931. Apart from a coronation set for George VI's coronation in 1937, imperial sovereign production did not resume until 1957. However there was a special issue of English sovereigns suring the Second World War to give airmen and special agents sovereigns to by-back safe passage to friendly ground. Interestingly these are dated 1925 and have a special high rim to separate them from normal issue.
Other World Gold Coins
Venice was the world capital for minting gold ducats from the early 14th century to the 18th century when England in 1717 accidentally went onto the gold standard by slightly overvaluing gold against silver. The French, Dutch and Spanish minted coins as they expanded their colonies throughout the world. France has led Europe in producing hammered coins and in Louis XIII's reign we saw the first milled coin, the Louis D'Or in 1640. These coins were produced until Louis XVI was guillotined in 1793. The Dutch also minted ducats, whilst the Spanish coined gold doubloons from their conquests in South America.
In the 1850's gold production doubled as the vast Californian and New South Wales rushes enabled these developing economies to join the gold standard. Gold Liberty coins from the U.S. and Australian sovereigns soon became as acceptable as imperial sovereigns. These first minted "New World" coins saw heavy usage and now some of the earlier minted coins in top condition fetch world record prices.
The First World War and the 1930's depression saw countries coming off the gold standard. Gold coin production did really resume until the late 1950's with most coins thereafter in proof condition issued as collectors items rather than everyday currency.
Silver & Copper Coins
Australia and America have been the two leading countries to significantly value silver and copper coins for what is relatively modern issues. Because of the generally large mintage of non gold coins, they do not normally have any significant intrinsic value.
In February 2005, a US copper cent dated 1792 that had been stored in an old tobacco tin fetched US$437,000 and was one of only nine examples known. Clearly the historical significance of being one of the first American coins minted after US Independence was the driving force for it's value. In Australia the 1923 half penny and 1930 penny both made of copper are legendary with the latter booking at near A$100,000 in top grades.
Historical silver coins of Charles I, and in particular those minted in the provincial towns which were besieged in the Civil War are particularly sought after, as are the rare Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth issues. The so called "Gothic" crown issued under Victoria in 1847 is both a beautiful coin, and with a mintage of only 8,000 highly sought after.
However it is worth noting that silver Roman coins, some of which are nearly two thousand years old, can be picked up for as little as A$20. Clearly the coins value is determined by the rarity and/or it's historical significance rather than the age.