Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Coins

Coins

1850s–1920s
Gold, silver
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
DN / C 15-16, 290, 414, 419-422, 428-29, 465, 504, 586, 591, 656, 662, 670

Many of the coins collected by Sir William Dixson are unique or very rare; many are more humble. As a group, they present a picture of the first 150 years of European settlement in Australia, from the early struggles to establish a functioning settlement and overcome deprivations to the confidence and pride in of a thriving city.

A particular highlight are the holey dollars, with the collection forming the most extensive series in existence. The ‘holey dollar’ was created in an attempt to solve the problem of a shortage of coins in NSW, which the colony inherited from England. The possibility that a convict settlement might require hard currency appears not have been considered, and so in the early years currency was very scarce. Colonists typically paid for goods by bartering or with coins brought from England. With visits of foreign trading vessels, foreign coins were added to the small supply of coins in circulation, but were soon shipped away, since they were current in other parts of the world.

With ingenuity born of desperation, in 1813 the authorities conceived the idea of stamping out the centre off the Spanish dollar coin, removing a piece about the diameter of a five-cent piece. The external portion, the ‘holey dollar’ retained its face value of five shillings in the colony, but was spoiled for circulation elsewhere. The centre portion, called the ‘dump’ was circulated as a new coin, one-quarter of the value of the holey dollar.

A boyhood passion?

The Dixson numismatics collection was acquired in 1952 through the bequest of Sir William Dixson. While it is not known when Sir William began collecting coins, the enthusiasm with which he was purchasing items early in the 1900s suggests he was continuing a boyhood passion.


His interest in Australian items was unusual as at the time the majority of collectors gave serious consideration only to coins of antiquity. Unusual, too, was the great range of Dixson’s interests – coins, tokens, medals, badges, banknotes, share certificates – anything that had a place in Australia’s numismatic history.

Gold

The discovery of gold in the Australian colonies 1851 brought financial turmoil. Though there were riches aplenty, gold dust and nuggets were not easy mediums for everyday trade. South Australia was the first to provide some sort of standard, initially with ‘ingots’ stamped with their official gold weight, and then with pound pieces. The Adelaide pounds are represented by four ‘die 1’ and ten ‘die 2’ specimens. These are so called because the first die used to strike an Adelaide £1 coin cracked after no more than 50 had been struck, and a new die had to be cut. The gold content in coins struck by both dies was greater than the value of the pound, as they were struck in 1852 when the price of gold had skyrocketed. Both coins were therefore recalled, and very few specimens remain. Since there are only eight specimens known to exist, the rarity of Dixson’s pieces cannot be exaggerated.

Other gold coins in the collection include seven 1855 sovereigns, one 1856 sovereign, four 1855 half-sovereigns, and two from 1856. Further rare items are the £2 and £5 of 1887 and 1902, bearing the ‘S’ mark that indicated they were struck at the Sydney Mint.