Andrew Crellin

Andrew Crellin’s numismatic career began at The Perth Mint. Subsequently he spent over a decade in Sydney with two of Australia's leading numismatic dealers. In that time he wrote two acclaimed books on Australian numismatics, appraised The Perth Mint's archival collection and was nominated to the position of Secretary of the Australasian Numismatic Dealer's Association. Back in Perth, his company Sterling and Currency specialises in Australian coins and banknotes, from the Holey Dollar of 1813 through to the modern coin sets.

First banknotes in the West

Posted by Andrew Crellin Historic

Dec 172012

Nearly 60 years before The Perth Mint began striking official coinage on Western Australian soil, some of the earliest banknotes printed in Australia were issued by the Western Australian Bank.

Established on 23 June 1841, the WA Bank was founded by a group of influential pastoralists and merchants including George Shenton and Edward Hamersley.

As shareholders in the Bank of Western Australia, formed in 1837, they had been unhappy with the board’s decision to amalgamate with the Bank of Australasia.

The first branch of their rival WA Bank was located at the eastern side of the intersection of St Georges Terrace and Pier Street – now the location of St Andrew’s (Uniting) Church.

It received strong support from local depositors. In fact, it was so successful that the Bank of Australasia was forced to withdraw from the west in 1845.

WA Bank’s first issue of notes was on 24 June 1841. These notes are known today by collectors as the “Type One” variety, and were composed by a local printer in black ink on one side only. The paper stock used was extremely light, even when compared to other notes from the pre-Federation period.

Western Australian Bank 1844 Unissued One Pound.
More information: Sterling & Currency.

By the end of the year, some 1,800 of these notes had been issued, a figure that had risen to 4,000 by January 1844.

Several hundred unissued examples of the “Type One” WA Bank £1 note were marketed by the well-known coin dealers Downies. They were presented in a coloured cardboard album that contained a range of background information on the bank and the notes, and was decorated by a number of contemporary watercolours of the Swan River Colony.

Downies’ literature stated that “From records, it is possible that up to 650 of these notes exist in original and uncancelled condition. However, experts believe the number surviving may well be as little as half of that number.”

At the WA Bank’s half-yearly meeting on 10 January 1844, the directors announced that: “A supply of new Notes, of a more durable character and from an engraved plate, is also daily expected, to supersede the neat but temporary note in type, which has hitherto been in circulation.”

These “Type Two” notes were engraved with an oval containing a swan, the title of the bank and “Established 1841” at the top. As part of the design, the word Perth appeared in the side borders and they were issued here until 1 November 1860.

It must have been a sad day for many Western Australians when in January 1927 the 84-branch WA Bank was acquired by the Bank of New South Wales, marking the end of a local institution “that had so long identified with the life and fortunes of this state.”

What drives us to collect coins?

Posted by Andrew Crellin Historic

Sep 242012

The instinct to collect runs deep in many of us – collecting is a compulsion that can’t always be explained clearly, let alone be controlled by rational thought.

Behavioural psychologists believe that some people collect in an effort to remember and relive their past. Coins and notes can be an effective means of achieving this.

The time when a child is first given the opportunity of sharing the responsibility of buying a household item regularly consumed by their family is important from a developmental point of view – this small increase in independence marks just one of the phases of growth from child to adult, and can have very strong memories associated with it.

Coins and notes can act as a strong reminder of the prices that everyday items such as newspapers, milk or even a bus ticket used to command. Such figures can be seared into the memory of a child. Once the child becomes an adult and sees or holds a tangible item that links them to those events from their childhood, it can evoke a range of nostalgic memories.

I have clients who remember a parent or older relative using a certain coin or note in a particularly important purchase from their childhood, whether it was for something as mundane as a ticket to the cinema, or for something as significant as a new electric appliance. Such strong memories have driven these collectors to acquire a range of coins or notes, so they can share the stories of their importance with their children and grandchildren.

I’ve also had clients share stories of a particular coin or note that had been lost or stolen during childhood. Once they’d gained the financial means of being able to do so, many felt compelled as an adult to finally acquire an example of the item – in so doing giving themselves a powerful sense of completion and satisfaction.

The reality, of course, is that there are as many different reasons for collecting as there are collectors and collections. But the desire to connect with the past drives a desire in some of us to collect old coins and notes that we’re seemingly quite powerless to resist!

Andrew Crellin’s numismatic career began at The Perth Mint. Subsequently he spent over a decade in Sydney with two of Australia’s leading numismatic dealers. In that time he wrote two acclaimed books on Australian numismatics, appraised The Perth Mint’s archival collection and was nominated to the position of Secretary of the Australasian Numismatic Dealer’s Association. Back in Perth, his company Sterling and Currency specialises in Australian coins and banknotes, from the Holey Dollar of 1813 through to the modern coin sets.

The 1868 Type II Sydney Mint Sovereign – A Turning Point In Refining

Posted by Andrew Crellin Gold, Historic

Jun 282012

It had been known since 1851 that the gold being mined in Australia was of greater purity than that standard in London, and furthermore that the natural alloy in which it was found included a predominance of silver. This was rather different to the copper alloy that the Royal Mint used to harden the gold it used when producing sovereigns.

This fact was borne out by the Royal Mint’s “Trial of the Pyx” in 1856, which showed that the Sydney sovereigns surveyed included on average 0.02% more gold than the London standard required. Although the percentage of silver in the alloy used for sovereigns at the Sydney Mint was higher than that used in London, the cost of the technology employed in extracting it in 1855 did not make it financially viable to do so.

The fact the amounts of extra gold and silver in each Sydney Mint sovereign was extremely modest did not prevent them from being coins of choice with hoarders around the globe. Anecdotal stories of Asian merchants, French peasants and Chinese traders (among others) preferring Sydney sovereigns to those from London abound in the historical literature.

Francis Boyer Miller – A Pioneer in Gold Refining

Francis Boyer Miller was one of two full-time assayers employed at the Sydney Mint, his brother was a non-resident assayer to the Royal Mint in London, and also Professor of Chemistry at King’s College, London.

Francis Miller’s technique for extracting the silver involved the use of chlorine gas: the “Miller Process” involves blowing a stream of chlorine gas over and through a crucible filled with molten impure gold. Impurities in the gold form chlorides before the gold does and these insoluble salts are removed from the melt by skimming the surface.

This process was so effective at extracting additional gold that the Royal Mint paid a bonus of £2,000, being for the exclusive rights to use his process in Victoria. To put this royalty in context, Miller had an annual retainer of £100 when he joined the Sydney Mint in 1853.

Miller patented his process in London in 1867, and conducted a range of experiments at the Sydney Mint throughout 1868 in order to prove the commercial viability of the process.

Evidence of the gradual introduction of Miller’s process can be seen in the characteristics of many sovereigns struck at the Sydney Mint in 1868.

Mint-state sovereigns struck from the natural Australian alloy prior to the introduction of Miller’s process generally have a bright, straw-yellow patina, often with hints of green.

When compared to sovereigns struck earlier in 1868, the first Australian sovereigns with the precise Royal Mint standard of purity exhibit a distinctly warmer, rose-coloured patina.

It is interesting to note that the Royal Mint correspondence registers from this period yield concerns that the higher proportion of silver was causing the Sydney sovereigns to wear thin in an untimely manner.

It is perhaps ironic that Francis Miller’s research into the chlorine refining process determined that the softness in design being observed in London was not due to wear, but actually by the minting technique – a slight “flow” of metal tended to smooth out Victoria’s portrait.

Although Miller’s research could not support any argument there could have been against the continued use of the designs unique to the sovereigns of the Sydney Mint, as his refining process now meant that there was complete metallurgical uniformity across all sovereigns issued by each of the branches from 1868 onwards, which ultimately led the Secretary of State for the Colonies to conclude that:

“My Lords see no reason why coins struck at the Sydney Mint should not bear the same design as those issued from the Mints in London and at Melbourne ; and they will therefore be willing to submit to Her Majesty an Order in Council, giving effect to the wishes of the Government of New South Wales in this respect.”

The 1868 Type II Sydney Mint sovereign is therefore a true turning point in Australian numismatics – not only are some the last sovereigns struck with the “native Australian alloy”, they are also the first that can unequivocally be said to be struck to the exact same specifications as those issued by the Royal Mint in London.

When is a coin a mule? When it’s a 1916 halfpenny!

Posted by Andrew Crellin Base Metal, Historic

Jun 082012

In the equine world, a mule is the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. The term is also used to describe a numismatic mismatch – a coin struck from dies not originally intended for use together.

Australia’s most famous mule is a halfpenny struck in 1916. It is the rarest Commonwealth coin issued for circulation in Australia.

The 1916 mule halfpenny was struck with the reverse die of an Australian 1916 halfpenny and the obverse of an Indian quarter anna.

This rare 1916 mule halfpenny was sold by International Auction Galleries, Queensland on 2 June 2011 for $70,000 plus 16.5% commission. Picture courtesy of International Auction Galleries.

This enigmatic Australian error coin came about following the outbreak of the First World War, when the Royal Mint in London delegated the production of a range of Australian copper and silver coins to its Calcutta branch.

The switch of location was designed to allay concerns that the German Navy was capable of sinking or intercepting maritime deliveries of coinage from Britain to Australia.

Precisely how the error came about is open to debate. The diameter, weight, thickness and composition of the halfpenny and quarter anna are all remarkably similar.

Clearly, at least one Indian obverse die was somehow mixed in with the Australian dies. Alternatively, the use of the Indian obverse anna die might have been intentional, perhaps to cover a very minor short fall in die capacity.

Bill Myatt and Tom Hanley state that “about 250 of these coins are supposed to have been struck at the Calcutta Mint, where all of the Australian bronze of 1916-1918 was produced, some 60 being given away and the rest added to the general Australian issue.”

The number actually known to be in existence today can be counted on the fingers of two hands – no other circulating coin comes even close to it in terms of population rarity.

Remarkably, the first public knowledge of the 1916 mule was on July 8 1965, when Cecil Poole presented the example he found to the July meeting of the Numismatic Society of South Australia.

There is little doubt in my mind that as further research is done in fleshing out the history of this coin, and collectors become more confident in trading them, the 1916 mule halfpenny will continue to set an atmosphere of intrigue, wonder and awe each time an example becomes available to the collector market.

A silver coin from the world’s bloodiest shipwreck

Posted by Andrew Crellin Historic

May 142012

On the morning of 4 June 1629, the Dutch East India Company ship Batavia was wrecked on Morning Reef in the Abrolhos Islands, off the coast of Western Australia. It was the prelude to an extraordinary tragedy laced with depravity and barbarity.

Commander Francisco Pelsaert, the ship’s senior officers as well as some crew and passengers, deserted 268 survivors on two arid islands whilst they went in search of water. Abandoning their hunt on mainland Australia, the party instead made their way to Batavia (modern Jakarta), to obtain help. The journey took 33 days.

On arrival, the high boatswain was executed on Pelsaert’s indictment for outrageous behaviour before the loss of the ship. Skipper Adrien Jacobsz was arrested for negligence.

The Governor General of Batavia dispatched Pelsaert in the ‘jacht’ Sardam to rescue the survivors. With extraordinary bad luck, it took 63 days to find the wreck site, almost double the time it took the party to get to Batavia.

Once at the Abrolhos, Pelsaert discovered that mutiny had taken place. A small group of mutineers had massacred 125 men, women and children. Pelsaert arrested the mutineers and executed a number of them.

When the Sardam finally returned to Batavia, some of the lesser offenders, who had been flogged, keelhauled and dropped from the yard-arm as punishment on the voyage, were executed. Out of 316 people originally aboard the ship Batavia, only 116 survived.

The wreck of the Batavia was discovered some 300 years later in 1963. Around 9,000 coins were retrieved from the seabed, and only 1,442 (16%) of them are officially in private hands.

This coin from the wreck of the Batavia, which has been authenticated by and registered with the WA Museum, is available for purchase - visit www.sterlingcurrency.com.au for more details.

Consider the above statistics and you’ll see just how rare these coins truly are. This example of a silver rijksdaalder clearly has a porous planchet (with a crack redolent of the 17th century production process), however the flan is full and round, and all of the major design elements on the obverse remain clear.

For mine, the knight’s portrait, with the dress and regalia that is unique to the period, really is evocative of all of the history that this coin has.

The story of the Batavia is so compelling that it has inspired numerous books, documentaries and even scripts for a feature film or two.

You may recall I featured a rijksdaalder in a short video recently entitled ‘What is Western Australia’s first coin?’

What is Western Australia’s first coin?

Posted by Andrew Crellin Gold, Historic, Silver

Apr 302012

If we’re going to answer the question what is Western Australia’s first coin, the most obvious answer is a gold sovereign struck by The Perth Mint in 1899. But there’s another candidate that could legitimately be considered as Western Australia’s first coin – as I suggest in the following video.

Older Entries