Question for you folks Down Under

lordmarcovan

Do Aussie decimal coins often come with die rotations? I found a 10-cent piece the night before last (think it was a 1967), stapled it into a 2 X 2 with the Queen upright, and then noticed that the "10" on the reverse was sideways when I flipped the 2 X 2 over. If it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't have noticed. The coin has almost a perfect 90-degree rotation. (Edit: I guess that would actually be 270 degrees, considering the normal rotation on Aussie coins?)

While we're at it, what's with that funny-lookin' lyre bird on the reverse? I never could see his head! Only after I started looking closer at this coin, did I notice he's peeking out from under his feathers, but otherwise I would have sworn he was some sort of exotic plant or sea creature.

secretsquirrel

Die rotations on the decimals are very hard to come across. Pre-decimals are easy enough to find though.
What sort of condition is the coin in? Being a 67 if it's a high grade the coin would command a premium over the others as 67 and 68 weren't officially released in mint sets.
The bird does look kinda weird doesn't it. I think the only way to get it on a coin was to picture it as if doing its mating dance
A 90 degree rotation would usually go for between AU$30-$50 depending on grade.

BTW...very nice find

lordmarcovan

Thanks. I'll try to scan it later. It isn't an UNC, as I recall. Maybe EF or AU.

secretsquirrel

If it was mine i would put an AU$50 pricetag on it in EF and add $10 for aUnc.

lordmarcovan

Wow!

I have a whoppin' ten cents US invested in it, if you count the 2 X 2!

lordmarcovan

Just got it out. It's a little better grade than I remembered it. Either a high EF or an average American AU, depending on how conservative you are. There is a little bit of luster left. I got the date wrong, though- it's a 1966.

Scanning it now... stay tuned...

lordmarcovan

secretsquirrel

That's alot to invest in an error like this
I have $1.50 invested in a $1 error coin. At Unc it's regarded as the best specimen known out of the 24 confirmed so far. Recently i won the auction for the second best confirmed specimen

lordmarcovan

I saw your thread on that one.

I think you need a 10c piece rotation to go with it.

secretsquirrel

Can you do a closeup of the middle tailfeather at the top of the bird. The 66 has 2 mintmarks and wondering if this is yet another Royal Mint blunder.

lordmarcovan

OK- hang on.

lordmarcovan

The white speck on the top rim was a piece of cardboard dust on the outside of the 2 X 2.

secretsquirrel

Yep, another Royal Mint blunder. They must have been going through a bad time then with a few errors on aussie coins, and then following it up with the NZ/Bahamas mule.
The next time they minted coins for us they did another favour by striking our 20c on several Hong Kong scalloped planchets.

lordmarcovan

Aethelred

I am the man from the land down under,
Where women glow and men plunder.

Well, not really, but I do like Outback steak!

coinkat

I have never seen a rotated AUSTRALIAN COIN...wow...

lordmarcovan

<< <i>I am the man from the land down under,
Where women glow and men plunder.

Well, not really, but I do like Outback steak! >>

I like Aussie rock, like Men At Work, but especially Midnight Oil.



<< <i>I have never seen a rotated AUSTRALIAN COIN...wow... >>

Yeah- I'd never seen one either! That's why this one struck me as kinda cool! (I also cherrypicked a few other world coin errors out of the 20+ -pound stockpile.)

So, secretsquirrel: do tell about the tailfeather thing.

lordmarcovan

TTT

Anybody else from Down Under or elsewhere wanna tell me what is going on with the tailfeathers on this coin that makes it a second error?

Something to do with the number of spines on the feathers? Which feather?

(Edit: oh. I see he said the middle feather. But I still dunno what is going on with the reverse that makes it unusual.)

1jester

Ask SecretSquirrel and his crew here.

1jester

OK, I just started a thread about it over there, with a link here. So perhaps you'll get some answers soon!

lordmarcovan

Secretsquirrel hasn't been back on these forums in over a year, I see.

Sylvestius

<< <i>I like Aussie rock, like Men At Work, but especially Midnight Oil. >>




I didn't know Midnight Oil were Aussie! I learn something new everyday.

lordmarcovan

Peter Garrett, their lead singer, was a member of Parliament for a while, I believe.

tbirde56

Aussie variety links here.

lordmarcovan

Thanks, Brad. I wondered if you had something.




<< <i>10c66C 1966 Canberra mint, rev, four spikes (feature 3)
10c66L London mint, rev, five spikes (feature 3)
10c66L1 L mint, bitten edge at 6 o'clock >>



But I'm afraid I am still clueless about these "spikes" or "spines". Four spikes... five spikes... counting from where?

This is a mintmark of sorts, right? Why did Secretsquirrel say there was a second error on mine involving these spikes?

Conder101

According to Krause if the feather has 11 spikes on it it was struck in Canberra. If it has 12 spikes it was struck in London. Now he said it was a Royal Mint error, but I only count 11 spikes making it a home grown error.

lordmarcovan

Spikes WHERE? I see spikes everywhere? Where are you counting from?

secretsquirrel

heh i sorta got lost The spikes aren't an error they have to do with the mintmark.

Hope i don't get in trouble for this

1jester

Hey Squirrel! Thanks for showing up. It's nice to see you around!

secretsquirrel

lol i turn up and the topic dies

lordmarcovan

Thanks for your overdue return, Squirrely One!

That's what I needed to see. I never knew WHICH spikes people were talkin' about.

Funny how much those feathers look like squid tentacles.

secretsquirrel

I wouldn't want to try eating them though lol.

Brissyboy

Hello, I finally got to post here.

Yes that is a Royal Mint London 1966 Aussie 10 cents.

As for Peter Garrett, he is still a federal government Member of the House of Representatives here in Australia.

Wayne

lordmarcovan

Wayne!

Good on you, mate!

lordmarcovan

TTT and SSP.

I threw it out on eBay on my wife's account, just to give her a little fun.

Cruzi

Mintmark is probably the wrong word.

Australian decimal coins have more like "privy marks" to differentiate the mints they came from.

In the case of the 10c you count spikes on feathers, on the 5c you are looking at a longer spike, on the 20c you have gaps between the platys head and the water as well as 3 1/2 claws in 1981 coins.

Die rotations on Australian decimals are relatively rare, 2001 seems to be most often found.

After visiting the mint (floor) the mystery on how upsets happen deepened.
The dies and collars have a ruddy great keyway in them to prevent them from rotating.

lordmarcovan

Point taken. I'll just let the nomenclature in her auction stand, though- she wouldn't know any different anyway, and folks know she isn't a collector or dealer.

All those spikes confuse the hell outta me, even though it's been explained sufficiently to me in this thread, I imagine.

Cruzi

The commercialisation of Privy marks by the Perth mint lead to them being called mintmarks in order to prevent confusion.

Should get Brissy to explain the 3 1/2 claw thing, he has just done some wonderful research with the Canadian and Australian Mints on it an finally confirmed a few things.

lordmarcovan

Brissy appears to be a one-post wonder when it comes to Collectors Universe.

Philip

<< <i>TTT and SSP.

I threw it out on eBay on my wife's account, just to give her a little fun. >>



I can see you're already ripping off that charon58 dude and making an obscene margin % on this one.

Brissyboy

<< <i>Brissy appears to be a one-post wonder when it comes to Collectors Universe. >>

Sorry guys, I lost the link to this forum. Just rediscovered it.

If you have any questions about 1981 Australian decimal coins struck at the Royal Australian Mint (Canberra), Royal Mint (Llanstriant), Royal Canadian Mint (Winnipeg) or Perth Mint (Perth), please ask.

The 3 and half claw 20 cents was struck by the RCM. The image they provided to us from their museum/archives collection clearly showed the 3 and half claws on reverse and flat text on obverse. Similarly the 5 cents obverse clearly showed the hair curls which are different to RAM and RM struck 5c. There is also a distinctive gap between the RA in AUSTRALIA on RCM coins.

The images provided by the Royal Mint show the 20c with the die chip in the water swirl to right of 20 on reverse. This coin has the false 3 and half claws, in other words, it has 4 claws with first claw faint and full claw visible at certain angles.

As the mints only provided high resolution images of one coin of each denomination in their collection it is difficult to say if any other varieties exist from a particular mint. It is certain that not all RM 20c have the die chip. Little difference exists between RAM and RM coins of other denominations. The text and distance from rim of the text may provide some means of distinguishing mints. More research is required. The 50c is the easiest as all Coat of Arms coins were struck by RAM and all Royal Wedding coins struck by RM.

The Perth Mint could not provide any images of the 2 cent struck by them in 1981. However examination of 1981 2 cent coins from circulation shows some have text closer to rim than others. The closer text variety may be from the RM. More research is needed here also.

A recent purchase of a 1981 ANZ Bank roll of 20 cents revealed a mixture of coin varieties from 4 claws to 3 and half claws but the text is inconsistant with known 3 and half claws 20c from RBA rolls. Where these 3 and half claws and false 3 and half claws and 4 claws were minted remains a bit of a mystery at present. It is possible they show a progression of die fill on coins from a particular mint, either RAM or RM. A photographic record of each coin has been made for easy comparison. My colleague Lyndsay in UK has also aquired an ANZ Bank roll but it will be October before he is back in Australia and can view the contents.

Wayne