Finding an old group of coins hidden away in a bag or a box or an attic or a cellar or drawer from a long lost uncle or a grandparents passing can be very exciting indeed. But where do you start? Are these coins actually worth anything? Just to start with I should just mention -Don't clean them if they look dirty! That can be a subject of a future post but it has to be said. You could ruin a valuable coin by attempting to clean it.

So, where to start with this group of coins? You could ask your local friendly coin dealer to value your old coins but I find I like to form my own opinions based on my own research so I am not led astray. I have found google search a particularly useful source in finding information online about identifying obscure coins and about online pricing. There are some excellent publications you can purchase that might help you identify your coins and give you an idea on pricing. For Australian coins and banknotes from sovereigns to pennies to platinum koalas, paper notes to polymer, sets and special issues you can't go past "The pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes" By Greg McDonald as a valuable reference. It is currently in it's 15th edition with a new edition due around Christmas time. This is a handy pocket sized guide which I carry around to shows, fairs and markets where I can quickly and easily find out the current values of old Australian coins and banknotes I may come across. Another handy reference for Australian coins is "Renniks Australian Coin & banknote Values" (currently 22nd edition) which also contains information on popular varieties and errors.

For US coins the key reference is "The Red Book" vital in determining those old coin values. It is published annually and contains issue prices and current values for all United States coins from Colonial and pre-federal State Issues to all circulating issues as well as commemorative and modern day Bullion coins, as well as other U.S. patterns, private and territorial gold, Hard Times tokens, Confederate issues, Hawaiian tokens and coins, Philippine issues and Alaskan tokens. "Krause" is another "bible" of world coin collectors and "Spink" for British coins.

Given the state of the world financial markets at the moment gold coins are of particular interest. They are of interest to coin collectors who wouldn't normally collect them, and to investors looking for a way to invest in gold. Gold is seen as a hedge against turbulent financial times, it will always be desireable and valuable and even when stock markets are crashing, currencies are being devalued, and banks are going bankrupt. The question to ask when purchasing gold coins is why you doing so.

If you're a collector of coins then in most cases the bullion value of a gold coin should not enter into your decision making process. As always, purchase the best coin that you can afford, one that has eye appeal, fits with your collecting interests, and strikes a balance between grade and cost. The range of gold coins available to the collector is huge, you can collect anything from roman aureii or solidii, through to hammered medieval gold coins, up to modern proof bullion issues.

It you're just looking to acquire gold for investment reaons you'll want to be able to purchase gold coins at or very close to the actual bullion price. For this I'd suggest either modern bullion issues such as American gold eagles, Canadian gold maple leafs, or Australian gold nuggets. If you want something with a bit more interest you could look for common date gold sovereigns from countries such as Great Britain, Canada, South Africa or Australia. However, you may find it most cost effective to buy gold in one ounce ingot or 'biscuit' form as these are usually available at a very small premium above bullion value.

The above Saudi Arabian guinea is in nice uncirculated condition. In times of lower gold prices it's collectable value outweighs the intrinsic gold value that it has. However, with gold being the current price that it is, this coin is worth more in gold than what the so called 'collectable' value of the coin is. This presents a problem to the true coin collector, because he or she is now competing for such a coin with people simply looking to purchase it for investment reasons.

The above Australian Sovereign is well circulated (perhaps Fine condition). It is not a scarce year or mint mark and thus will never be worth much more as a collectable coin than what the bullion value is. This is the sort of coin that a gold investor might purchase as a cheap way of obtaining the metal but still having a coin with some interest and history.

If you are new to coin collecting you may, from time to time, come across the terms 'junk silver coins' or 'junk silver' and wonder exactly what it means. Well on the most basic level junk silver coins are coins that are worth more at the value of their silver content rather than based on any sort of collectable value. The term is especially common among coin collectors from the US because there are still US coins with silver content found (rarely) in circulation. In the USA up until 1964 dimes, quarters, and half dollars all contained 90% silver by weight. From 1964 onward circulation dimes and quarters contained no silver at all, while half dollars contained 40% silver up to and including 1970.

In most other countries coinage with intrinsic silver value was removed from circulation 40 or more years ago, and in most cases it was demonetized. For example, coins from Great Britain contained 92.% silver up until 1920. From 1920 to 1946 they were 50% silver and after that time they contained no silver at all. In Australia up until 1946 silver coins contained 92.5% silver, from 1946 to 1964 they reduced to 50% silver, and after this time Australian coins contained no silver at all. The exception to this is the Australian round 1966 50 cent coin which contained 80% silver.

OK so given all of this exactly when does a coin become junk silver? Well there's no hard and fast rule, but generally it is when the silver bullion value exceeds the collectable value. So, as the price of silver goes up more coins could be considered junk silver and tradeable on bullion value alone. In the USA junk silver is usually bought and sold on some multiple of face value, so 90% silver coins might be sold at 9 times face value, valuing a dime at $0.90 quarter at $2.25. In other countries where the silver coinage has been demonetized you would usually buy based on calculated silver weight multiplied by the current silver bullion value.

I'd just like to add one thing in conclusion. What is junk silver to one collector may be quite collectable to another. Young coin collectors, new coin collectors, or collectors on a budget may well be very happy putting together coin collections from well circulated 'junk' silver coins. The hobby does not need to be expensive, and putting these sorts of sets together can be rewarding and fun. It can also provide for more obtainable goals than the ones more advanced coin collectors can set for themselves. So what is one collectors 'junk' may well be another collectors 'treasure'.

I dont ever intend for this weblog to become a means of distributing investment advice. I am simply not qualified nor experienced enough to comment on the investment potential of coins. However, if you are looking to invest in coins then I suggest the following:

• Educate yourself as much as possible. An educated investor is a better investor than the ignorant investor. Education should involve some knowledge of coin grading, some knowledge of the coins you are investing in, and certainly knowledge of the market for the coins you are investing in. A coin dealer may tell you a certain coin rarely comes on the market, dont just accept this, do your reasearch. A quick internet search of past auction results may tell you that what you have been told is not entirely accurate.
• Dont take anyone's word for granted. I would no more invest no questions asked in a coin based on the advice of a coin dealer than I would buy shares in a company based solely on the advice of a stock broker. In both cases there are vested interests, the coin dealer wants to make a margin on the coins they are selling and the broker wants their commission.
• Dont make the mistake of mixing your hobby and your investments. Your hobby will lead you to making purchasing decisions using criteria other than financial ones.
• Understand the concept of market supply and demand. Ideally you want to invest in coins that are in short supply and in high demand. So in the Australian market for example, low grade 1930 pennies are a high value and rare coin but at any one time there are usually several available to purchase so perhaps potential capital growth is limited. Conversely, some high grade Australian varieties are in very short supply but they are also in very limited demand, so again perhaps capital growth is limited.

If you're interested in reading more about investing in coins there's a very good article about investing in coins on this site. Remember though, educate yourself, be cautious, and remember that it's your money so look after it!

I mentioned briefly in my post about 2x2 coin holders that the self adhesive 2x2 coin holders had a habit of coming 'unglued'. Well I read something today that should act as a warning to anyone keeping their coins long term in these holders. There's an interesting thread on the Australian Coin and Banknote forum (ACBO) about one of these holders coming unglued and the coin it held dropping on the floor when the holder was picked up. Net result? A big scratch on the coin and several hundreds of dollars in coin value being lost in just a few seconds just for want of not using a better coin holder.

*edit September 2012. The ACBO forum is now inactive. For coin and banknote discussion please visit the The Australian Coin Forum.

I thought it was worth having a longer tutorial type article describing exactly how to use 2x2 coin holders for the safe storage of your coins.

1. Select a holder that has an opening that is slightly larger than the diameter of the coin you are going to put in the holder. For thicker coins you may need to select a holder with a larger opening to allow the mylar window to stretch to accommodate the coin. In this case I have selected a 32.5 millimetre holder to hold this Australian Penny, which has a diameter of 30.8 millimetres.

2. While wearing cotton gloves place the coin in the correct orientation in the holder. The staple type 2x2 (2 inch square) coin holder I am using here has a tab on the holder, this is the 'top'. You should orient the coin appropriately to suit. The Australian Penny here is a medal alignment coin, so I just put it the right way up. For coins from the United States (for example) which are coin alignment you need to decide whether to display the obverse or reverse the correct way up.

3. Fold the bottom part of the holder over the top half enclosing the coin. It is worth noting here that most 2x2 cardboard coin holders will only fold one way so you can tell if you have the coin sitting on 'inside' of the holder. Other indications that you have the coin sitting on the inside is that some coin holders have a glossy smooth coating on the 'inside' of the holder while the 'outside' is just regular cardboard.

4. While holding the coin in place you can now commence stapling the holder. I try to staple my holders in the same manner every time so they present a neat appearance when in album pages. I'm going to use 4 staples on this holder, but for larger or thicker coins you might use 6 or 8 to achieve an air tight seal.

5. I'm just finishing off the last of the four staples here. I've placed them evenly around the window and tried to space them out the same distance from the window. It's at this stage that you should examine the edge of the holder to check that you have gotten a good seal with the number of staples you have used. If you haven't now is the time to add more.

6. It's worth mentioning the benefit of using flat clinching staplers now. The above picture shows a staple from a normal stapler. If you're using a stapler like this then you'll need to flatten these staples with pliers before you're done. There's a few reasons for this. Firstly, it's neater to have them flattened, secondly they are a lot easier to put into 2x2 coin album pages with the staples flattened. Finally, not flattening the staples can mean that 2x2 coin holders stored loose together can actually result in the non flattened staples scratching the coins in other holders.

7. You can see above a staple from a flat clinching stapler, there's nothing further that needs to be done with this.

8. If you're using a normal stapler you'll need to flatten the staples on the 2x2 coin holder. I use pliers. You need to be careful that you don't puncture the mylar window (or worse damage the coin) with the end of the pliers while you are flattening them.

9. The last step is to put any notes on the holder that you need to identify the coin. I always put the Krause number, country, denomination, year and mint mark, and grade on the 'front' of my holders. On the back I put a unique catalogue number that refers back to my central coin catalogue so I can tell where I bought the coin and how much it cost me.

And that's it.....how to holder up a coin in a 2x2 coin holder.

There seems to be ever increasing interest in PNC's lately. But do you really know what a PNC is? PNC stands for Postal or Philatelic and Numismatic Cover which is generally a joint philatelic (stamp) and numismatic (coin) envelope. In Australia, for example, official PNC's are endorsed by the Royal Australian Mint or the Perth Mint and released by Australia Post using their coins. Issues such as The Ashes PNC were also endorsed by the cricketing body Cricket Australia. Some PNC issues are also numbered and may be 'limited editions'.

Beware of what you are buying as it is becoming more common for 'backyard operators' to crudely revamp a philatelic first day cover by adding a coin and marketing these as something special - they are not!

There are some genuine unofficial pnc's that hold a place in Australia's history. The "Yarralumla" PNC is highly sought after by collectors. Private company Nuphil Associates Ltd commissioned the RAM to produce 50 cent coins in 1969 to make these covers. The RAM however could not meet the numbers of coins needed so ordered a special striking. The coins contained in these PNC's were a specimen striking of the fifty cent not available elsewhere. These were postmarked at Yarralumla, ACT and backstamped in Canberra City on the same date. These PNC's were sold originally for USD$7.50 each and now fetch $800+.

Ring Type Air tite coin holders are a variation on the coin capsule, a variation that has a number of advantages. They comprise of an outer coin capsule made from scratch resistant and chemically inert acrylic and an inner foam ring that retains the coin. In the image above you can see the two halves of the air tite coin holder on the left, with the inner foam ring in place in one of the capsule halves. The foam ring is made from some sort of inert foam, in the case of air tite coin capsules it is made from a cross linked uv stable polyethylene foam (branded 'volara'). Both the acrylic outer capsule and the inner polyethylene foam ring are completely PVC free and both chemically inert and thus suitable for the long term storage of your coin collection.

Selecting a ring type air tite coin holder to suit a particular coin is a matter of selecting a ring diameter to suit that of the coin (usually 0.5 millimetre smaller than the coin diameter is fine). Placing a coin in the air tite coin holder is simple. Just open the capsule and (while wearing cotton gloves of course) push the coin gently into the inner ring so that it sits flat and square. When you're happy with the placement of the coin you can gently press the top half of the capsule onto the bottom half until it is completely engaged. Your coin is now stored in a air tight chemically inert environment suitable for long term storage.

One problem with air tite coin holders is that their round shape and thickness doesn't make them easy to store in a way that they can be easily viewed and appreciated. A relatively new product on the market is a coin album page specifically designed to hold round coin holders such as air tites. You can see an example of this in the image above.

Advantages of Ring Type Air Tite Coin Holders
The ring type coin holders have a number of advantages over the direct fit type coin capsules.

• You can fit a wide variety of different sized coins in just three different outer capsule sizes by just varying the hole diameter of the inner foam ring. This makes storage of the air tite coin holders easier to deal with.
• The foam ring secures the coin completely allowing no movement of the coin. Direct fit capsules can allow the coin to move about if the fit is not perfect. This is a particular problem for collectors of non US coins as most direct fit capsules are designed to fit US coinage.
• The foam ring (available in different colors) can provide an attractive contrast to the coin making for better presentation of your collection.

Eagle Coin Holders are an excellent method of storing your coin collection long term. You can see in the image above one eagle coin holder unassembled and one assembled holder containing a coin. The eagle coin holder comprises two hard plastic injected molded halves into each of which a colorless mylar window fits. Each window has holes into which pegs on each half of the holder fit. Once attached to each half, the coin is placed in the middle of one of the mylar windows centered on the hole (in the holder) and then both halves of the holder are pressed together to form a tight fit. The edges of the two mylar windows are pressed together by the two halves of the holder forming an air tight seal around the coin.

The key advantages of the eagle coin holder are:

• The mylar windows are much thicker than those found in 2 by 2 cardboard coin holders I discussed previously. They are likely to be largely impermeable to outside contaminants.
• The thickness of the black plastic parts of the holder mean that the coin is reset into the window of the holder and very unlikely to receive any incidental damage.
• The thickness of the mylar windows is such that any light contact with the window is unlikely to damage the coin it holds.
• Because of the method used to hold the two halves together the holders contain the coin very securely and it is very unlikely that the holder will either come apart or that the coin will move about in the holder.
• There are special folder pages available that allow you to store eagle coin holders attractively in a folder. For storage in a safe deposit box or similar there are specifically designed boxes that can hold a number of eagle coin holders securely.

Some Tips on Eagle Coin Holders
The two main problems I have with Eagle Coin Holders are using them with very thin coins and very thick coins. With very thin coins there can be insufficient clamping force between the two mylar windows and the coin can move about within the holder. The possible solutions to this are:

1. Use an eagle holder that has a opening that is only slightly larger than the coin it is holding to provide more clamping force on the mylar window and prevent it from flexing so much.
2. The mylar windows are available in two thicknesses, try using the thicker mylar window to reduce flex in the window.
3. In extreme cases if the thicker mylar window does not hold the coin tightly enough you can use multiple mylar windows on either or both sides.

The opposite problem with using eagle coin holders with small or thin coins is using them with thicker or larger coins. In this case the larger coin either stops you from pressing the two halves of the holder together, or more seriously, the holder pops apart after the coin is stored. The possible solutions to this are:

1. Use an eagle coin holder with a larger opening. This will allow more flex in the mylar window and helps to stop the holder being forced apart by the thickness of the coin.
2. Try using the thinner of the two types of mylar window, again this allows more flex in the window and helps to stop the holder being forced apart.
3. The manufacturer of eagle coin holders suggests using contact adhesive (such as supa glue or cyano acrylate) to hold the two halves together with thicker coins. I strongly recommend against this. These sorts of glues give off volatile fumes that I would not want near any of MY coins.
4. In extreme cases I have pressed the corners of eagle holders together with pliers, this has generally stopped the holder popping apart, but it can damage the plastic of the holder slightly. Do at your own risk.

2x2 Cardboard Coin Holders are probably the most common method of storing coins today. These holders (as the name suggests) are cardboard and 2" x 2" (50mm x 50mm) in size, with a mylar window through which you can see the coins. Basically, you place the coin in a holder with a correctly sized window, fold the holder in half and fix the two halves of the holder together. In the above image you can see an unused 2x2 holder on the left, and a holder containing a coin on the right. The holders in the image are staple type 2x2's, where each half is held together by staples. You can also get holders that are self adhesive and both sides simply stick together when you fold the two halves together.

Some Tips on 2x2 Coin Holders

• Try to put a coin in a holder whose window is only slightly larger than the coin. This will prevent the coin from moving about within the holder.


• Make sure to clean the inside of the mylar window (with a can of compressed air for example) to remove any particles of cardboard before placing a coin in the holder. These particles can cause toning on the coin surface.


• Try to get holders that contain the tab at the top of the holder (similar to the ones above). This makes the holders a lot easier to pull into and out of 2x2 coin album pages.


• 2x2 Coin holders are probably OK for longer term storage of lower cost coins but I would not use them for long term storage of valuable coins. I have seen an example of coins in these 2x2 coin holders being toned within the holder because of a rubber band around the outside of the 2x2. There is also some concerns as to how air tight the seal is that you can obtain from either stapled or self adhesive coin holders or even that the mylar and cardboard themselves are permeable to certain contaminants.


• There are coin album pages designed specifically to hold these 2x2 coin holders, they provide an easy and attractive way of storing coins in these holders.


• The cardboard holder can be written on and provides a convenient way of keeping your collection well cataloged, or for noting of varieties or other information.

Some Tips on Stapled 2x2 Coin Holders

• Make sure to use enough staples to get a good seal around the coin. Thicker coins (such as Eisenhower dollars and other crown sized coins) can cause the holder to bulge open slightly if you use only 4 staples.


• Make sure to use a flat clinching stapler or to flatten staples with pliers after you staple a holder. This will make the holders easier to put into album pages, will allow them to store flatter, and will prevent the staples damaging other coins in 2x2 holders that they might come into contact with.


• Stapled coin holders are usually a better choice for longer term storage of coins than the self adhesive 2x2 coin holders.

Some Tips on Self Adhesive 2x2 Coin Holders

I strongly believe that self adhesive coin holders should only be used for very short term storage of coins. I have seen both major brands of self adhesive 2x2 coin holders available in Australia come 'unglued' when subject to either heat or humidity commonly experienced here. This can be be bad enough because the coins become exposed to the atmosphere. But much worse the coins can actually slide downward in the holder and became 'stuck' to the glue on the holder itself leaving a residue on the coin.

I should quickly note that this style of cardboard and mylar coin holder is available in sizes other than 2x2. This can be useful if you need to store larger coins such as the 1792 Cartwheel 2d from Great Britain or certain larger exonumia such as medals.

PVC Coin Album Pages are probably one of the oldest and most common methods of storing your coin collection. They are cheap, easy to use, can be put into a common three ring or four ring folder, and provide a neat and simple way of admiring and storing your collection. However, there lurks a hidden danger in the material that these coin album pages are made from.

The PVC (poly vinyl chloride) material the album pages are made from are subject to chemical breakdown when subjected to heat or UV lights. And unfortunately one of the chemicals released when PVC breaks down is an acid (hydrochloric acid) which can irrevocable damage the surface of a coin that happens to be stored within the album page.

Another problem with the PVC Album Pages is that the PVC contains 'plasticizers', chemicals which make the PVC softer and more flexible. These plasticizers can leach from the album page and form a coating on the surface of the coin contained within. This slimy coating is especially apparent in humid climates and is colloquially known as 'green slime' by coin collectors. The coating itself is a chemical mix that can attack the surface of your coins and cause permanent damage.

The solution to the use of PVC Coin Album Pages or PVC Flips is to simply not use them, or to use them to hold other more secure coin holders such as 2x2 coin holders. If you do not wish to make use of PVC at all then look for coin album pages made of the more inert mylar, polyethylene or poly propylene. Coin flips made from mylar are commonly available from most coin collecting supply shops and these should be used to replace all of your PVC Coin Flips. Polyethylene coin album pages are available from such manufacturers as Numis and Lighthouse.

Storage of your coin collection is an issue that cannot be ignored, and a problem that will take real effort and money to solve. In this introductory article of what will become an extended series of articles I will cover briefly the key issues that you will take into account when deciding how and where to store your collection.

Storage to Prevent Coins Suffering Environmental Damage
A key requirement when storing your coins is that they remain in the same physical condition they were in when you bought them. The reason for this is to prevent unattractive toning, protecting them from chemical exposure or humidity and keeping them so that they can be handled safely. Some storage methods that will help ensure this and that I'll cover in later entries will be:

• Coin Album Pages
• PVC Coin Album Pages
• 2x2 Coin Holders
• Eagle Mount Coin Holders
• Encapsulation or Slabbing your coins
• Airtites (Capsules)

Storing Your Coins Securely
There's no doubt that coins can be valuable and valuable things can be stolen. Storing your coins securely to prevent theft is an important consideration. In a later entry I'll cover some of methods people can use to store their coin collections securely.

Storing Your Coin Collection So You Can Enjoy It
Unless you are a pure investor there's no doubt a large part of the coin collecting hobby is actually enjoying your collection. Being able to sit and look at your coins, hold them, examine them up close is a tactile pleasure that most coin collectors enjoy. If this is an important aspect of the hobby to you then your chosen storage method should be such that you can easily access, view, and hold the coins from your collection. In some later entries I'll cover some collection storage methods such as:

• Coin Folders
• Whitman Albums
• Eagle Coin Holder Albums
• Eagle Coin Holder Boxes
• Coin Slab Boxes
• Coin Presentation Boxes

Keep an eye on the weblog over the coming weeks, the above items will become live links to new entries as I add them!

It's often difficult to find a reputable source when acquiring your collections. Areas for obtaining coins for your collection can be:

• numismatic dealers on the internet or with shopfronts,
• numismatic auctions on the internet, postal or public auctions,
• general internet auction sites such as eBay or Oztion and
• coin shows or fairs.

With all these areas for purchasing quite often your fingers can get burned with overgraded coins, poor images or coins with imperfections that aren't stated when you are unable to personally view your purchases before buying.

One Internet Auction site I can recommend is Emu Auctions. They currently have a broad selection of Australian decimal, pre-decimal and error coins up for auction. If you are searching for an honest avenue for buying then this Australian coin and banknote auctions site is the place to start. Having personally purchased a number of coins from this site I have found their service exceptional and their descriptions true to the coins. This is heavily policed by the auction site staff. This combined with a full money-back guarantee gives you confidence to buy Australian coins worry-free over the internet.

Another type of out of collar coin error is the 'ramstrike' or 'high lip' coin error. This sort of error occurs when the planchet is partially off-centre or out of alignment when the coin striking process starts. As the hammer die moves down to strike the coin part of the planchet is retained against the top of the collar and the rest of the planchet is driven down into the collar against the anvil die. This results in the retained part of the planchet being stretched vertically giving an unusual high lip on part of the rim of the coin. Certainly for Australia pre-decimal coins, the ramstrike, or high lip error is not as common as the normal broadstrike, but when you can find one they are spectacular errors.

The ramstrike error above is the best one that I have seen. The coin is beautifully struck, is in truly choice uncirculated condition, and has a lovely high lip. These sorts of scarce high grade errors are what the error coin collector should be looking for all the time. They are few and far between and should be snapped up if you can afford them!

The last entry talked about curved clipped planchet errors. During the manufacturing process coin blanks are punched from a long metal strip. The curved clip coin error occurs when the coin blank is punched from the strip of metal before the hole from the previously punched blank has completely moved away. Another type of clipped planchet coin is the straight edge clip where the coin blank is punched from the strip of metal right at the end of the strip or the edge of the strip. This results in a bite taken from the coin with a largely straight edge. I have seen two types of this error, the so called ragged clip where end of the metal strip has not been cut cleanly and the edge bite has a ragged appearance. A regular straight clip shows a neat straight clip, most likely because the end of the metal strip has been cut and finished properly or the clip overlapped the edge of the strip of metal.

A clipped planchet or edge bite error coin occurs when a coin is struck on an incomplete planchet. Coin blanks are punched out from strips of metal using a high-speed punch. Sometimes the strip isn't pushed along far enough after the previous blank was punched and this results in a planchet that isn't fully rounded. The resulting planchet has been punched out of the strip where the previous blank was cut, thus leaving a 'bite' out of the blank. The resulting coin after it has been through the minting press has a curved clip on the side of the coin. Another clipped coin is a straight clip which I will discuss in a future article.

To distinguish between a genuine clip and a man-made version you need to look at the opposing edge of the coin. In genuine edge bites there is a weakness in the rim and on the opposing side of the coin - this is termed the 'Blakesley effect' after an American numismatist who first described it. The weakness results from the rim opposite the clip not being formed fully when it is put through the rimming machine. The Blakesley effect is not apparent on clips of the Australian 50c coin because the rims are formed during the striking process and not in a separate operation. Another possible indicator of a genuine curved clip is fishtailing of the lettering of the legends around the area of the clip.

In Part 1 of the Split Planchet Coin Errors series of articles brief mention was made of the so called 'clamshell' partially split planchet. This sort of coin error (as seen above) happens when there is a weakness in the metal of the planchet and the coin fractures along the weakness. However, in the case of the 'clamshell' the weakness may not run through the entire planchet resulting in a partially separated coin. Typically the side that is split is opened up slightly giving the characteristic clamshell appearance.

Some collectors of this sort of error may try to encourage the coin to separate completely through mechanical means or perhaps by repeatedly subjecting the coin to freezing temperatures. When the coin does split completely the result is the more typical sort of split planchet error seen in the first part of this series of articles.

In the previous entry about Split Planchet Errors I mentioned that there were 2 main types of split planchet error coins. Those that were split and were then struck and those that were struck and then split. The above is a superb example of the planchet splitting before coin was struck. The thin planchet then being fed into the press resulting in weak incomplete strike. The striations from the weakness in the metal can be seen easily in this example. The strike is so weak that the date is not fully visible.

A split planchet coin error occurs when there is a weakness or lamination defect in the metal blank. During the preparation of the planchet strip foreign materials may become trapped below the metal surface, eg, gas, dirt or grease. This area of the metal will be weaker and may flake, peel or split because the adhesion is poor where the foreign material is . With the example of a split planchet error the blank may split partially or wholly in 2. The above example has split completely in half and you can see parallel striations are present as the metal has split. This split has occurred after the striking of the coin. If the split were to happen prior to the coin being struck it would result in a weakly struck or blank portion of the coin surface -these errors we'll talk about in a future article. A coin in the process of splitting in 2 may have a clam-like appearance with one edge of the coin letting go.

In 1800, the Governor of the Colony of New South Wales issued a proclamation fixing the values of certain circulating coinage. This was known as the 'Proclamation' and it was done in an effort to retain coinage in the fledgling colony and stop it being removed by traders. When you think about the young colony of New South Wales in 1800, it would have produced very little in the way of manufactured goods, so the vast majority of these would have been brought into the colony by ship borne traders, who upon selling their goods for hard currency would have left taking the currency with them. This of course led to constant shortages in circulating coinage.

To try to combat this Governor King proclaimed that certain circulating coinage would have a value above the actual intrinsic or circulating value of the coin itself. So for example, the 1787 Great Britain Shilling was proclaimed to have a value of 1 shilling and 1 pence. Of course, with a higher accepted value the coinage was much more likely to stay within the colony than to be removed by traders, and in addition extra currency was likely to be spent in the colony by traders because of it's extra buying power.

The coins mentioned in the proclamation (and their nominated value) are listed below:

• Great Britain, Gold Guinea, 1?? 2s
• Portugal, Gold Johanna, 4??
• Portugal, Gold Half Johanna, 2??
• India, Gold Mohur, 1?? 17s
• India, Gold Pagoda, 8s
• India, Silver Rupee, 2s 6d
• Spain, Silver 8 Reales, 5s
• Netherlands, Gold Ducat, 9s 6d
• Netherlands, Silver Guilder (Gulden), 2s
• Great Britain, Silver Shilling, 1s 1d
• Great Britain, Cartwheel Copper Penny, 2d

Values shown are in pounds, shillings, and pence. So for example, the Netherlands Gold Ducat was proclaimed to be worth 9 shillings and sixpence.

In coming entries I'll take a look at some of the proclamation coins and also some of the other coinage that would have circulated within the colonies of Australia in the early 19th century (so called 'colonial' coinage).