Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 1838. Estimate $5000.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $4000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AUSTRALIA, Colonial. Victoria. 1837-1901. AV Sovereign (6h). Sydney mint. Dated 1855. VICTORIA D: G: BRITANNIAR: REGINA F: D: 1855, young head left, with fillet / Crown above AUSTRALIA in wreath, SYDNEY MINT ONE SOVEREIGN around. KM 2; Friedberg 9. In PCGS slab, graded XF40. ($5000)

Australians were still clamoring for a provincial mint after the closure of the Adelaide operation, and in late 1853 permission was granted to start a new mint in Sydney. Extremely rare patterns dated 1853 are known, but official minting did not begin until June 1855. Rumors that the new coins were overvalued were met with an official assay that proved the Sydney mint sovereigns actually had a higher intrinsic value than London mint issues, due to being alloyed with silver, rather than copper. The Sydney sovereign became a widely accepted trade coin, being especially popular in India. The James Wyon filleted young head was updated after two years with a Leonard Wyon design featuring Victoria with a native banksia wreath. The native Australian-themed designs were replaced by standard imperial types in 1871.