3058) Port Phillip Patterns, Australia: A 25 Dollar four-coin Gold Proof Collector Coin Set, minted by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) recreates historic Port Phillip gold patterns in "two, one, half, and quarter ounce": Date/Year of Coin set issue: 2023:
The Header/Banner showcases the "PORT PHILLIPS PATTERNS" Reverses at left, against a period background of the days of wooden, masted ships anchored at Port Phillips. At top right is seen the Obverse and Reverse of an original Gold Coin.
The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) has brought out a four-coin Gold Proof Collector Set, which recreates one of the country’s more imaginative chapters in Australian numismatic history 170 years after their initial creation.
One of the biggest gold rushes of modern times transformed 1850s Australia from a dreaded penal colony to a thriving metropolis and redefined the nation’s identity.
From Australia’s richest alluvial soils arose one of the world’s most profitable goldfields and, with this Victorian Gold Rush, brought would-be prospectors from all over the world, expanding the population, boosting the economy, and creating a unique chapter in the Australian numismatic story.
In 1852, English businessman William Joseph Taylor (1802–1885), by trade an engraver and die maker and active in the numismatic industry producing both coins and medals arrived in Melbourne.
He was an entrepreneur and a shrewd businessman who launched a venture to produce Australia’s first non-legal tender coins. Taylor became aware that gold could be bought from miners digging in the Ballarat fields at greatly reduced prices.
His plan was to establish a private mint in Melbourne, strike gold coins, and release them for their full value in London. To ensure his coins did not conflict with strict currency laws, the designs were made to look more like weights than coins.
Taylor himself created the dies for a two-ounce, one-ounce, half-ounce, and quarter-ounce gold piece, each dated 1853.
To proceed with this venture, Taylor formed a syndicate with two colleagues and together, the three invested £13,000 in the enterprise.
To get the venture launched, the syndicate chartered a fully rigged 600-ton vessel to transport a coining press, dies for producing half penny tokens and two employees, manager Reginald Scaife and assistant William Morgan Brown.
Named "The Kangaroo", an appropriate symbol of Australia, Taylor’s mint was also known as "The Kangaroo Office" and was situated near Melbourne’s Flagstaff Gardens.
The Kangaroo arrived many months after leaving London and finally arrived at Hobson’s Bay in October 1853 with its precious cargo.
The Downside:
Unfortunately, after having been winched onto the pier, the coining press was simply too heavy to move to its final destination in one piece. The answer was to disassemble it, transport the components, and re-assemble it at the Kangaroo Office, where it was put into working order.
It was not for another seven months until the Kangaroo Office was operational, but from the very start, the Kangaroo Office found itself under financial pressure.
By the time the mint was finally operational, gold which had been trading for £2 and 15 shillings per ounce when the minting plan was devised, had increased to £4 and 4 shillings an ounce.
Making things worse was the glut of English sovereigns in circulation.
With gold prices rising, Taylor’s scheme collapsed since gold prices were now in line with the price of gold in London. However, during that interim, Taylor did manage to produce just a few of his distinctive kangaroo pattern coins.
Scaife, as manager of the enterprise, discovered there was little need for half-penny tokens, and before long, the enterprise had difficulty just meeting initial costs.
The Kangaroo Office’s most successful operation was at the 1854 Melbourne Exhibition, where the minting press was set up to strike tin tokens commemorating the event. Scaife won an award at the exhibition for the tokens he struck there, which did manage to spread the word of the work of the Kangaroo Office.
Before the end of the exhibition, Scaife also struck 27 sets of gold tokens from Taylor’s dies, ranging in weight between two ounces and a quarter of an ounce.
From these 27 sets, two sets were exhibited in Melbourne and were then sent to the 1855 Paris International Exhibition.
In the end, Taylor finally closed the Kangaroo Office and sold his minting equipment to Thomas Stokes, who founded the Stokes & Sons factory.
Taylor ordered Morgan Brown to take the dies for the Kangaroo gold pieces and throw them all into the deepest waters of Hobson’s Bay, the end of an unfulfilled and costly venture, one would think.
However, the evidence that Taylor’s orders were not obeyed was uncovered when these very dies were later discovered at the Stokes & Sons factory in the early 1900s.
In 1917, the company struck lead replicas of all four gold pieces for the Numismatic Society of Victoria, all dated with their original 1853 year date.
Also produced were examples of gilt copper and pewter versions being produced with plain or milled edges for most denominations.
The Coins:
- The Royal Australian Mint’s new coin set comprises four quarter-ounce gold Proof coins which recreate the original designs.
- Both the Reverse and Obverse sides depict designs inspired by the Port Phillip Gold Patterns.
- The subtle perfection of the new designs does not fully replicate the originals but does create their own sense of authenticity and place in Australia’s numismatic history.
The Obverse and Reverse designs were engraved by William Taylor, whose original design depicts on the Obverse a Kangaroo facing right with the date 1853 below.
A broad raised patterned rim surrounds the design.
Incused legend lettering on the broad rim/periphery around the design reads "PORT PHILLIP" and "AUSTRALIA".
The Reverses shows numerals "2" or "1", or "1/2" or "1/4", with the word "OUNCE" superimposed in a vertical direction on the numbers 2 or 1.
A broad raised rim features the incused legend "PURE AUSTRALIAN GOLD" with "TWO, ONE, HALF, or QUARTER OUNCE" shown below.
These marsupial-adorned coins, termed the Kangaroo Office Patterns or Port Phillip Patterns, were Australia’s first non-legal tender investment coins.
The few surviving examples are highly prized by collectors around the world and are extremely valuable.
In a nod to this exciting period of Australia’s gold rush and numismatic past, these four rare coins minted from a two-ounce to quarter-ounce weight are the inspiration for a new four-coin gold set.
The only known complete Kangaroo Office Numismatic Masterpieces Set is held by the British Museum.
The specifications of the Coin Variants are:
i) The specifications of the 2 ounces — £8 Gold Coin Variant are:
Country of issue: "Australia"; Year: 2023; Coin Theme: "Port Phillip Pattern Coins"; Denomination/Face Value: £8 (Eight Pounds); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 2.00 Ounces or 62.2 grams; Diameter/Size: 35.00 mm; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mint: Royal Australian Mint (RAM).
ii) The specifications of the 1 Ounce — £4 Gold Coin Variant are:
Country of issue: "Australia"; Year: 2023; Coin Theme: "Port Phillip Pattern Coins"; Denomination/Face Value: £4 (Four Pounds); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 1.00 Ounce or 31.1 grams; Diameter/Size: 28.00 mm; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mint: Royal Australian Mint (RAM).
iii) The specifications of the 1/2 Ounce — £2 Gold Coin Variant are:
Country of issue: "Australia"; Year: 2023; Coin Theme: "Port Phillip Pattern Coins"; Denomination/Face Value: £2 (Two Pounds); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 1/2 Ounce or 15.5 grams; Diameter/Size: 22.00 mm; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mint: Royal Australian Mint (RAM).
iv) The specifications of the 1/4 Ounce — £2 Gold Coin Variant are:
Country of issue: "Australia"; Year: 2023; Coin Theme: "Port Phillip Pattern Coins"; Denomination/Face Value: £1 (One Pound); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 1/4 Ounce or 7.78 grams; Diameter/Size: 18.00 mm; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mint: Royal Australian Mint (RAM).
The Four Coin Set:
Country of issue: "Australia"; Year: 2023; Coin Theme: "Port Phillip Pattern Coins"; Denomination/Face Value: 25 Dollars (x 4 Coins); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 7.78 grams; Diameter/Size: 21.6 mm; Coin Quality: Proof (P); Mint: Royal Australian Mint (RAM); No. of Sets: 750.
- The Obverse features the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial effigy framed by a ring of Taylor’s distinctive kangaroo crosshatch pattern in the rim and the words “Pure Australian Gold.”
- Each coin is individually encapsulated and presented in a hardwood timber case accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
- Each of the four coins weighs one-quarter ounce and recreates the original obverse design, celebrating the anniversary with the dates 1853-2023 placed under the seated kangaroo.
- They are set apart with the numerals 2, 1, 1/2, and 1/4 on the reverse.
The Presentation Box/Case
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