Summary

Australia New South Wales Sydney
Sydney Mint Half Sovereign, 1863 (AD)
Mint: Sydney

Physical Description

A gold coin (19 mm diameter with milled edge) featuring a head of Queen Victoria facing left and wearing a wreath of banksia with the date 1863 below. The reverse features the word AUSTRALIA below a royal crown within a wreath of laurel and with the words SYDNEY MINT above and HALF SOVEREIGN below.

Obverse Description

Head of Queen Victoria facing left and wearing a wreath of banksia which is plaited, the date 1863 below; around, VICTORIA D:G: BRITANNIAR: REG: F:D:

Reverse Description

At centre within a laurel wreath AUSTRALIA under a royal crown; above, SYDNEY MINT; below, HALF SOVEREIGN

Edge Description

milled

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Numismatics & Philately

  • Acquisition Information

    Transfer from National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), 15 Mar 1976

  • Date Issued

    1863 AD

  • Issued By

    HM Queen Victoria, Sydney, Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

  • Mint

    Royal Mint, Sydney Branch, 1863
    Half sovereigns bearing this date were all struck in June 1863. The mintage figure was 150,000; the higher figure normally reported reflects the use of 1862 dated dies in 1863. See References.

  • Artist

    Leonard C. Wyon - Royal Mint, London

  • Inscriptions

    Obverse: VICTORIA D:G: BRITANNIAR: REG: F:D: 1863 Reverse: SYDNEY MINT AUSTRALIA HALF SOVEREIGN

  • Denomination

    Half Sovereign

  • Series

    Sydney Mint

  • Material

    Gold

  • Axis

    06

  • Classification

    Coins, Australia, Working strikes

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    Numismatics

  • Type of item

    Object

  • Dimensions

    19 mm (Outside Diameter), 3.902 g (Weight)

  • Shape

    Round

  • References

    The following table is taken from Sharples, J.P. "Early Gold Production at the Melbourne & Sydney Mints" Australian Numismatist (forthcoming 2005) and relates to a survey of Sydney mint gold half sovereigns in circulation in Melbourne in 1883 together with standard references to mintage levels by Greg McDonald (based on Annual Reports) and Graham Dyer (based on monthly returns to London from the Sydney Mint). Figure 2. Sydney Mint Half Sovereigns Sydney Survey Date 1883 survey McDonald Dyer Dyer's observations 1855 2 21000 21000 1856 20 478000 478000 1857 12 499000 537000 1858 9 483000 483000 1859 15 341000 341000 1860 8 156000 156000 1861 19 186000 367500 Includes 190000 struck in 1863 1862 8 210000 215000 Struck in 1863 1863 8 348000 150000 Struck in June 1863 1864 7 141000 240000 Struck in 1865 1865 4 62000 104000 42000 struck in1865; 62000 struck in 1867 1866 5 154000 154000 Struck April 1869