Old coins may be a treasure chest

IS YOUR BOX OF OLD PRE-DECIMAL COINS A TREASURE CHEST?

If you are like many Australians at the moment trying to raise a few extra dollars to cope with the increase in the cost of living, and you are also one of those who has a box of Australian, pre-decimal coins put away somewhere, it’s possible you have a treasure chest.

Some of those old coins in good condition can be surprisingly valuable to collectors. Many of us have heard of the rare 1930 penny, which can sell for tens of thousands of dollars, but there are other old Aussie coins, including halfpennies, threepences, sixpences, shillings and florins, that with the right date and in good condition could bring you a small windfall. Some common pre-decimal Australian coins in good condition are now worth $100 or more, and a rare, “like new” coin could sell for tens of thousands.

At the upcoming Nobel Numismatics April auction in Sydney, from April 13th to 17th, collectors are expected to bid in excess of $50,000 for a silver threepence from 1860, featuring an Indigenous man with a boomerang.

A 1910 two-shilling piece (florin) in the auction is valued at $1,500, a 1932 florin could sell for $2,500, and a 1924 shilling for $1,500. If a coin has incurred an error in the minting, its value can skyrocket. A threepence in this auction with an overdate “1922/21” could sell for $35,000. And, yes, there are two rare 1930 pennies up for sale. It’s estimated they will attract bids in excess of $15,000 each.

If you’ve kept a few pre-decimal coins, the most valuable are those that are old and in good condition, especially if they look like they just came from the bank. The first 1966 fifty-cent pence is now worth up to $30 because it is silver, which has gone up in value in the last year. And if you are lucky enough to have a bank paper roll of certain new coins from that era, you will have a real treasure.