​Our November meeting, being the last for 2023, was celebrated in style with Christmas only weeks away, the Coin of the Month was specified as something with a Christmas theme.

One of our members had recently purchased from the Benalla Post office a Royal Australia Mint colored uncirculated 2023 50 cent Christmas coin. The coin design features a stunning five point star in glorious color framed with detailed sprays of leaves flowers and fruit (see photo).

We were also informed from a member’s coin magazine of the legend of Santa Claus according to Turkish tradition originating in the town of Patara, south Turkey, in 1718.

Another member presented a 2015 $2 Canadian coin that depicted QE2 on the obverse. It was commented on that the QE2 effigy was a very poor image of the monarch and far inferior to that on Australian coins.

One of our regular avid collectors displayed two full sets of colored $2 coins, which were very similar but with subtle differences including the Tooth Fairy series and the much sought after 2012 and 2022 red poppy coins.

Also circulated was three beautiful sets of $1 coins in year order from 1984 showing side by side the uncirculated specimen, proof specimen and proof silver coin. A magnificent collection not often seen, with the silver proof coins an absolute standout.

The afternoon was topped off with a cuppa, mince tarts and shortbread biscuits.  Merry Christmas to one and all!

I am looking forward to an exciting 2024 U3a year ahead. There will be some interesting changes including an opportunity for people wanting to evaluate their collections, who are not collectors, to present their collections to one of our monthly meetings to obtain free advice and commentary through the expertise on offer through our membership.

Happy noodling!

​
Doug Smith
Convenor ​

This month we had five members attending.

1. Bill had recently been to the Benalla Post Office, where he was able to purchase the 2023 60th Anniversary of the Bathurst 1000 50c as well as a WW1 medallion of Simpson and his Donkey, 1914-18 Great War Penny and a 2023 Tasmanian Devil $1.
2. Rupe spoke about English coins.
3. Peter showed us his set of the Aussie Big Things, a set of ten $1 coins, depicting the larger-than-life statues, situated in ten towns around Australia. These too can be purchased from AusPost. He also showed us a small Coin Collection Folder, which depicts all the circulated, 1c, 2c, 5c and 10c coins.
4. Frank showed us his collection of 50c coins, starting with a 2002 “Outback, the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games, 1977 QE 2 Silver Jubilee, 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, 1995 International Year of the Family, 2001 Australian Federation Coins, Victoria, Northern Territory and South Australia, 2003 Australian Volunteers, 1981 Charles and Diana’s wedding, 2004 Student designed Australian Fauna and 1995 Weary Dunlop.
5. Finally, David exhibited his collection of Silver Proof 50c coins and spoke about their characteristics.

David Lowing

Our coin/topic of the month for September was about mintmarks on pre-decimal half pennies and pennies. Most of these mintmarks are in the form of small dots generally located on the reverse (non-head side). These mint marks indicate where the coins were minted.

The first Australian penny was minted in 1919 with George V mintmark. The mint location was denoted by a dot on the reverse side of the coin and had three variations:
Melbourne Mint – no dots or dot below bottom scroll
Sydney – dot above top scroll and below bottom scroll
 
Prior to 1919 pennies were minted in (H) Heaton UK 1912 and 1915 only; (I) India Calcutta1916.1917 and 1918 only. The first Australian Penny was minted in 1911 at the Royal Mint London. Pennies with the reverse kangaroo from 1938 (George VI to QE II) to 1964 often had a dot after the word Y or A. denoting the Perth Mint.
 
Data at a glance – Penny
Issued 1911 to 1964: not issued1937 and 1954
Key dates: 1937 very rare, 1930 rare, scarce1920 (not dots) 1925, 1946
 
The first Australian minted halfpenny was in 1923.It’s mintmarks are similar to the penny.
 
Data at a glance – Halfpenny
Issued 1911 to 1964: not issued 1937,1956,1957, 1958
Key dates: 1916 mule very rare, 1923 rare, scarce 1915, 1918, 1939 kangaroo reverse.
 
Have a look through your old stash of half-pennies and pennies, you may be surprised by what you find.

The topic for our October meeting will be the humble 50 cent piece and its various designs and metal compositions and finishes.
 
Happy noodling.
 
Doug Smith ​

Our regular group of six coin collectors were presented with a real challenge with the August Coin of the Month being the most attractive non-circular coin.

Most coins are circular because of ease of production and their shape does not wear holes in clothes pockets. The most common non-circular coin we are familiar with is the Australian 50 cent piece which has 12 sides and called a dodecagon. We were presented by one of our members with a beautiful collection of silver and gold 50 cent coins (see photo below), most of which none of us have ever seem; what a treat!

We were also presented with a number of other non-circular coins including a 7-sided 50 cent piece (heptagon), a 12-sided three pence from the UK and a Hong Kong 12 point scalloped 20 cent piece.

Most of our modern circulating coins are round because a round shape is less likely to wear down unevenly since no one part of it sticks out further than the rest from any angle.

Also, in the days when coin value was assessed by metal type and weight, it was easy to cut off the corners but more difficult to do that with round coins. Milling of the coin edges also limited this practice especially when coins were made of precious metals like gold and silver. Then in the modern world there were vending machines which need coins to roll.

Coin of the Month for September will be “let’s talk about the Australian penny and its dots”.

Doug Smith

Our new segment, Coin of the Month, continues to challenge our Coin Collectors group.

​The July Coin of the Month was to bring along the largest diameter dated circulating coin.

We were presented with an array of large coins including:-

• Persian (Iran) 1925 5 Rial                                     37mm dia
• US 1 Dollar 1891                                                   38.1mm         
• Australian Crown 1937                                          38.5mm
• UK 1980 Queen Mother 80th birthday coin           38.61mm
• Australian $5 2008 Scouts Centenary coin           38.74mm
• Australian $5 1988 CBA celebrating opening        38.74mm

         Parliament House by QE2

• Australian $1 1993 silver kangaroo                       40.60mm
• Comparison Australian 50 cent piece                    31.65 mm

The winner of the largest circulating coin was Australian Crown at 38.5mm. Runner up was the Australian $1 silver kangaroo at 40.60mm, because it was a commemorative coin and not a circulating one.

You would need strong pockets to be carrying these large coins around which were also very heavy. The Crown weighed 28.27gm, Silver $1 kangaroo 31.6gm compared to 50 cent piece at 15.55gm.

A check of the internet shows a number of coins claim to be the biggest in the world. This is Australia’s biggest gold coin but obviously not a circulating one.

The largest gold coin (pictured below) weighs 1,012 kg ,measures 80 cm in diameter, 13 cm in thickness and is made from bullion with a purity of 99.99 per cent. The legal-tender coin was introduced on 9 February 2012 by the Perth Mint (Australia), with a face value of AUS$1 million The coin, called the "1 Tonne Australian Kangaroo" features a Kangaroo and was created to promote Australia's official Kangaroo Gold Bullion Coin series.

We had a good roll up to our June meeting with 6 members present. Our new segment “Coin of the Month” (COTM) is proving popular. All members came along having looked high and low including their sock draws to present their June (COTM) - the smallest dated coin.

We discovered there are many coins worldwide that are considered small. In fact the world’s smallest coin is from Croatia 1 Kuna and measures a minuscule 1.99 mm in diameter. You would need your glasses on to be able to see it. In comparison the Australian pre-decimal three pence was rather large at 16mm in diameter.

Our coin of the month presentations included:

• Swedish 1959 10 Ore (14mm dia)
• Swedish 1964 10 Ore (14mm dia)
• Swedish 1901 10 Ore (14mm dia)
• Australian 5 cents (19.4mm dia)
• Australian 1 cent (17.6mm dia)
• Euro 1 cent (16mm dia)
• Netherlands 10 cents (16mm dia)
• English Groat 4 pence 1843 (16.3 mm dia)
• USA half dine 1857 (15.5 mm dia).

There were three Swedish Ore coins presented all with the smallest diameter of 14mm. The winner was declared as the oldest Ore dated 1901. (See comparison photo 10 Ore beside 5 cents)

The Show and Tell session saw the presentation of various coins including:

• 1980 Queen Mother commemorative coin dated 4 August 1980 celebrating her 80th birthday
• 2002 50 German Euro coin
• 2000 50 cent half dollar
• 2017 UK 1 pound 12 sided coin (dodecagonal)
• 2023 $2 colored Vegeimite series of three coins
• An album of well preserved bank notes from Australia and Asian countries
  

​
The theme for the July COTM will be the largest diameter dated circulating coin (excludes commemorative coins).
​

Doug Smith

This month was a little light on for Membership, with only three members attending.

1. We saw a good collection of Australian & International notes. Au $1, $2, $5, $10 & $20. The $5’s & $10’s covered all four series. International notes from Fiji, China, Poland, Nicaragua, Guagua, Indonesia, Japanese WW2 Dutch Indonesian, Mozambique, Brazil, Ecuador, Bhutan, Zaire, Libya, Argentine & India.
2. 2015 six-coin proof set, with a gold 50c coin & a 2019 50th Anniversary set of the 50c Dodecagon coin, each of the five coins featured a different effigy of Queen Elizabeth.

We then tried something different, Noodling sheets were handed out and a noodling session was held, with $100 worth of 50c coins, with one member having his first experience of Noodling.

David Lowing

We again ran our exclusive Coin Trivia quiz of 8 questions, with a handout answer sheet at the end of the session. The session stimulated further discussion on the answers provided and in doing so fulfills the objective of continuing education for our members in the field of numismatics.

Our show and tell segment was presented with the $2 coloured coin commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. Also presented was a complete folder of 60 coloured $2 coins covering the first release in 2012 to the present.A very desirable collection envied by coin collectors.

Our Coin of the Month for May will be the smallest size dated coin.


Doug Smith

We had 10 attend our coin collectors group held on 27th March including a new member.
I have introduced two new segments (Coin of the Month and Coin Trivia) to complement our usual Show and Tell session where members present a coin and explain it’s background.

Coin of the Month for March was for members to bring along their oldest dated coin. This yielded some interesting coins and required members to dig deep into their collections. A range of coins presented included

1858 Dutch two and half   
1861 English Queen Victoria
1867 French 50 Francs
1803 East Indies token coin
1799 George 3rd farthing
1858 French 10 francs
1797 English George 3rd penny

The 1797 George 3rd penny (below) was declared the winner and the monthly prize presented to the winner. This coin was called the Cartwheel because of its significant size and weight.

​The oldest recorded coin was 495 BC from Zarkle now Messina Sicily. The earliest Christian era coin was from Denmark dated 1234.

The April Coin of the Month will be – “Most Attractive” - as determined by a vote of those present (with a winner’s prize)
 
Some members of the Group now have the app Coinoscope on their mobile phones. This has  proved very useful in identifying and clarifying the origin of unfamiliar coins.

The Coin Trivia session consisted of eight questions about Australian coins and was designed as a learning/education experience.

1. Why do some coins have milled edges?
1a. What was the first commemorative coin?
2. Why is the 1930 penny so rare?
3. When did the kangaroo appear on the penny and halfpenny and replace the words One Penny and One Half Penny?
4. Why was 50cent 12 sided coin introduced?
5. When were paper one dollar and two dollar paper notes replaced by $1and $2 coins?
6. When were one and two cent coins withdrawn from circulation?
7. Who is on the reverse side of the $2 coin?
8. What influenced size of $2 coin?

Our Show and Tell session presented a set of 28 coins of all Olympics sports from the 2000 Olympics, a7 sided UK 50 cent piece, a 2023 PNC Legacy set with an Australia Post mintmark.

Also presented was a 1998 UK two pound bi metal coin. This coin was unusual with the outer yellow metal nickel-brass ring made from 76% copper, 20%zinc and 4% nickel and an inner steel-coloured cupro-nickel disc made from 75% copper, 25% nickel. Of interest is the inscription around the edge of the coin. The design of the coin traces the story of technology. The edge inscription complements this theme:  Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants. Taken from a letter written by Sir Isaac Newton in 1676 acknowledging the debt he owed to other scientists “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. Sir Isaac Newton was also Master of the Royal Mint from 1699 to 1727.

​
Doug Smith
Convenor

Our first meeting for 2023 was held on Monday 27th February. Coin Collectors is now held on 4th Monday in the month at 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

Our 2022 group made their return as did two new members resulting in 8 people attending on the day.

The group discussed what its aims were for 2023 and agreed the 2022 format of “show and tell” was a key element to the success of the group and should be retained. In addition more use will be made of various coin channels on YouTube, particularly the PJ’s Coin Capers channel. One of our members has been in contact with PJ with the offer and likely acceptance, of coming to Benalla as our group’s guest speaker. PJ ‘s Coin capers has a huge internet following and is something to look forward to. The audience may be broadened to involve other community interest groups, conditional on availability of a meeting venue and insurances.

A large magnifying light will be brought along to meetings for members to see their coins up close.

A coin of the month segment will be introduced that will invite members to bring along their oldest, most unusual, colorful, valuable, ugly, largest, smallest, etc. coin, with the Coin of the Month voted on the day.

The Group agreed that the sessions were about self-education, enjoyment of the hobby and networking to build coin our collections.

Members were reminded that the free mobile phone app Coinoscope was an excellent and quick tool to self-identify your coins, particularly foreign coins.

Discussion was had on sourcing coins for noodling from local banks and that latest releases were often available at Benalla Post Office and on special milestones occasions through Woolworths Benalla.

In our show and tell session, circulated around the table, we saw:-

• Coins from Hong Kong, Norway, India, England, Norway and Saudi Arabia
• Tokens from Wrest Point Casino, Tivoli token Denmark, 1980 Telstra Tower entry token.
• PNC card of Vegemite coins including a colored $1
• 2023 RAM Mint set
• Silver commemorative coins of QE2 and King Charles 3
• Bronze medallion of Walter Burley Griffin (1876 -1937)
• 2022 $2 colored red poppy presented to one of our group for his 75th birthday. Extremely rare as only 66,000 were minted and highly sought after by collectors.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 27th March.


Doug Smith

Coin Collectors met on 21st November with five members in attendance. Pre-Christmas engagements meant a number of our members were apologies.

Excitement of the group centred around the release by RAM (The Royal Australian Mint) of a 2022 colored Remembrance Day $2 poppy coin. The original 2012 $2 coin had a very low mintage of around 0.5M coins. This made it very collectable due to its rarity with the current ebay price anywhere from $400 to $2,000 depending upon condition. The RAM has now minted a limited 2022 version which was to beavailable on line from 3rd November. The demand was that great that their website crashed. The coin will now be available via a RAM ballot closing on 26th November, at the original purchase price of $15. If you were in the ballot and secured a coin consider yourself having acquired a valuable investment.

At our meeting a number of interesting coins were circulated for inspection. These included English coins of the 18/19th century including halfpennies and pennies. Of particular note where the coins covering four English monarchs: Victoria 1, Edward 7th, George 5th and George 6th.

Interesting to note that as the United Kingdom prepares to start issuing coins with His Majesty King Charles III, one might notice a key feature you think would be a staple: the monarch wearing a crown. This isn’t the first time a monarch hasn’t worn a crown on a coin. Previous British kings are known not to wear crowns on coins that feature their portraits.

One of our members visited the Royal Australian Mint Canberra in early November 2022. He purchased the latest $2 colored coin depicting the 75th anniversary of Australian Peacekeepers. He also reported that on the 3rd November that people lined up to purchase the expected release of $2 re poppy coin stretched more than 300 metres.

Our members at the meeting used the app Coinoscope. The app is free and simply by taking a photo of the coin it can identify the coin’s details, particularly useful for foreign coins and those without any legible writing. Once the coin is identified you can put the details into your web browser to see its selling price on ebay.

 
Doug Smith

Coin Collectors met on October 17th, with seven members in attendance including a visitor. I am pleased to say that our visitor, a member of Benalla U3A, got to hear about us through the Newsletter.

As usual there were a number of interesting coins presented to the Group due to their uniqueness, color, condition or rarity.  These included:

• Foreign coins with a central formed hole. Brought along by a number of members, these coins were from PNG and Palestine and characteristically were made from a very light alloy metal. The purpose of the hole was keenly debated.
• A very nice 1986 English proof coin set was sent around the table for viewing.
• A continued flavor of foreign coins saw a two and half cent coin dated 1858 from the Netherlands. Also presented was an Indian 1958 square Rupee.
• A unique coin presented was a 50 cent piece celebrating 75th anniversary of the Australian Signals Directorate. These coins contained a word code stamped into its outer edge.
• A member purchased a PNC 2021 $1 coin celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 95th Birthday and 2022 $1 coin celebrating The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Both coins are presented with first day issue stamps. These coins purchased in early 2022 from the Benalla Post Office for $17.95 each are now advertised on e-bay from $150 to $200 each.
• A number of very high quality coins were circulated for inspection, contained in individual sealed and marked cases. This is to protect the integrity of the classification. The scale is called the Sheldon Scale with MS70 the highest rating denoting a perfect uncirculated coin.

Our new members are keen to learn about coin collecting and gaining interest in old family coins they have in their possession. The Group has a number of authoritive books on Australian Coins and Notes that can be borrowed.

If you have coins you would like to show the Group or get advice on then we welcome you to join us the third Monday in the month commencing at 1.30pm.

​
Doug Smith

​Five members of the Coin Collectors group met on Monday 15 August at 1.30pm at the Senior Citizens rooms. Convenor Doug Smith was away with family on the day, so he asked Gary Edwards to deputise for him.

The “centrepiece” for the afternoon was undoubtedly a George III English gold guinea that had been expertly converted, with a golden chain, into a necklace.   The actual “spade” guinea was in perfect condition.  There was a presentation of recently acquired A5 size coin albums which had other members enthused to purchase similar.   These albums are compact and well labelled and cater for all coin denominations.

Another presentation was of various old coins and bank notes from countries including the USA, UK, France, South Africa and Ceylon.  This was a change from our normal displays of Australian coins /notes. 

​In addition, publications from the Royal Australian Mint were discussed.  A recent one detailed the newly released 150th Anniversary of the Overland Telegraph coin.   Various copies of the monthly Australasian Coin & Banknote magazine were distributed to interested members. 

Gary Edwards 

Our small group of five Coin Collectors met for out July meeting with four apologies due to winter ills.
​
As usual there were a number of interesting coins presented to the Group due to their uniqueness, color, condition or rarity.  These included:

• A first day cover of the 1971Apollo 14 Moon Landing.
• Pre-decimal 1 and 2 pound notes in crisp condition.
• A 1966 round 50 cent coin. This coin is unique as it contained 80% silver and 20% copper and because of the silver content were discontinued after 1966. Present day 50 cents coins are 75% copper and 25% nickel.
• A natural alluvial gold ingot weighing 5.5grams and based on current gold prices valued at $493.
• An old Persian (now Iran) coin obtained by a coin member’s father when he travelled to the country around 1920’s. This coin which had no identifying writing was checked against a mobile phone app called Coinoscope. One of our members demonstrated this handy app which is used by taking a photo of the coin which is then processed and compared to a search engine coin data base for identification.
  
• A pre-decimal album of coins that had not seen the light of day for some years.
• A unique 1988 medallion presented to one of our collectors at the Hamilton Agricultural Show for champion maiden poll ewe.
• Full set of decimal currency coins (5 cents to $2) covering all years from 1966 to present.
• A year 2000 proof set of Australian coins with a beautiful blue colored 50 cent coin at its centre piece.

An edible coin cake was enjoyed for afternoon tea (see photo). One of our members achieved an OBE and presented a beautiful cake decorated with (chocolate) coins and in the colors (red/blue/gold) of his old football team Fitzroy, now Brisbane Lions.

Doug Smith

Five Members attended our June Coin Collectors meeting while apologies were received from three members.

An interesting array of coins was presented and discussed amongst our members and included:

• !970 Captain Cook uncirculated 50 cent piece in its original coin case.
• An old Indian coin from the East India Company.
• A unique high quality RAM medallion.
• A 2022 colored $2 honey bee coin and the 2021 colored $1Ginger Meggs coin set. These uncirculated coloured coins are very attractive and popular with collectors.
• A rare pre-decimal set of five florins in the original folder.
• A commemorative collection of recently released QE2 Platinum Jubilee 50 cent coins. These are beautiful specimens and unique because of the limited mintage of 7,500.
• A 1988 50 cent piece highlighting the magnificent detail on this coin from the range of 50 cent designs.
• A golden guitar 50 cent piece celebrating 50th anniversary of the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
• An uncirculated 4 coin dinosaur set of $1 coins with privy marks.

To add some fun and educational interest to our meeting a coin trivia questionnaire was held among those attending with some interesting results including a perfect score of 10 out of 10.

Our next meeting will include viewing a YouTube video from PJ’s Coin Capers.
 
Doug Smith
Convenor

Our May meeting was lightly attended due to some of our regular members away on holidays and others absent due to health reasons.

Discussion centered around the following topics.

Pre-decimal coins: One of our newer members is noodling his old cache of pre-decimal coins and with the use of the Rennicks bible on coins, is learning/discovering the mintage numbers and those coins that re now considered collectables.

Damaged coins: Coins showing signs of damage are worth a second look as to whether the coin condition is as a result that occurred during mintage or has happened in circulation. A 50 cent coin presented to the group had some unusual scarf marks that were eventually determined to have happened while in circulation.

Medals: A medal owned by a group member was presented to the group dated 1954. It was presented to all Victorian primary school children to commemorate the first Royal visit to Australia by the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth 2. Any coins/notes or other memorabilia bearing the QE2 effigy will likely become more sought after when the Queen eventually passes.

Recent Purchases: Our most prolific coin collector member presented one of the newest released 2022 $2 coloured coins. The very attractive coin depicts the honey bee and a coloured centre honeycomb. A special set of Australian collectors’ coins depicting decimal currency produced in gold and silver was a highlight of the meeting.

Members of the group are also acting as mentors to newer members in providing valued personal knowledge of coin history and loaning well respected books on the Australian coins to assist with coin knowledge and education.

We welcome new members to our group. Our next meeting is on Monday 20th June commencing 1.30pm
 
Doug Smith
Convenor

Our Coin Collectors group continues to grow with three new members joining us at the March meeting to take our active membership to eleven. A common theme among our new collectors is. “I have had a tin of coins in the cupboard for a long while and am not sure if any are valuable”. If this is you, bring them along and the Coin Collectors will have a look and give you some advice.

Pat has a tin of coins in his cupboard that he is bringing along to our next meeting, but in the meantime will “noodle” it contents with added interest.

Bill circulated at our meeting a proof 2014 American quarter dollar. He also passed around   uncirculated $200 gold 1985 and 1986 Perth Mint collectable coins.

Peter has a number of coins in jars and like Pat is noodling to bring along some specimens to our next meeting.

Rupe presented a number of coins in plastic folders in an old coin album. Coins were generally pre-decimal and from many overseas countries including England and Europe. The plastic transparent coin holders were purchased from a news agency in Wangaratta.

Jill had a number of coins of unknown origin including a coin with foreign letters and the word Palestine 1927 on one face and a hollow centre. A suggestion was made that a google search was a valuable tool that may assist to identify and value a coin of interest.

Asha presented a State Savings Bank token displaying an effigy of Captain Cook dated 1970. It was noted tokens are as collectable as coins with many different varieties in existence and popular in times past.

Doug circulated to the group his carded collection of coloured 50 cent pieces depicting early model GM Holden cars including the FX,FC and Kingswood models. These coins are still available for purchased from the Ram.

David spoke to and circulated a number of coins including a full album set of coloured $2 coins 1988 – 2021 and a number of carded 50 cent gold and silver collectors coins.

David and Doug have a number of coin resource books that are offered on loan to the group to help members assess their collections and generally improve their collector knowledge. These will be brought to the next meeting for loan.

Members were also advised the Benalla Post Office have Ram coins on display for sale and will order coins in on request, from their Ram catalogue.
​
Doug Smith
Convenor

Our Coin Collectors met for the first meeting of 2022 on Monday 21st February at the Senior Citizens rooms.

It was nice to see some new faces join our group and of course the return of our regular members. All told we had 8 attend with 2 apologies.

Bill passed around an undated American dollar coin depicting the fourth president of the USA, which is uncommon given most dollar currency is in note form. The coin is thought to be more of a collectors’ coin rather one for general circulation.

Wendy presented the group with a number of Australian notes ranging from a pre-decimal one pound note to decimal one and two dollar paper notes now replaced by coins and the old paper five to twenty dollar notes now replaced by polymer notes.

Rupe created some curiosity with the circulating a number of paper notes that were Japanese printed occupation money to be circulated in conquered countries during World War 2 including Australia.

Peter has recently joined our group after being stimulated by his previous visits, to renew his interest in his collecting.

Joy along with Vaughan presented their coin/note album filled with collections over many years from the countries they have previously travelled to. A closer look identified some unusual Australian coins not regularly seen in general circulation.

Doug circulated his RAM (Royal Australian Mint) folders of collectable commemorative decimal currency coins ranging from 20 cents, 50 cents and $1 including his coloured $2 collection.

David, an avid coin collector, presented the group with a number of impressive collectable coins. These included 2022 50 cent silver proof golden guitar 50th Tamworth Music festival anniversary; 2005 gold kookaburra; 2021 silver $1 Mungo Park, 2022 Australian Front Line Workers mint set.

David, who has multiple decimal circulating coins of the same design and date, has kindly offered these to the group at face value. If you let David know what you want he will advise if he can supply from his excess stock, otherwise they go back to the bank.

Doug prepared a 10 question decimal coin trivia quiz to add some further educational value to the afternoon. See below for the answers but have a go first.

Doug’s Coin Quiz (ds 27/02/2022)

1. What is on the tails side of 1c, 2c, 5c, 10, 20c,50c
2. Which is heavier 2 cents or 5 cents         
3. When was $2 coin introduced
4. Which coins has no milled edge
5. How many edges on a 1969 50 cent coin
6. How many effigies of the Queen has there been
7. Which was will Charles effigy face when he becomes king
8. Where are all circulating Australian coins made
9. When were 1 and 2 cents removed from circulation
10. What happened to the withdrawn 1c and 2 cent pieces

Doug Smith,
Convenor

​Answers:1: 1c - feather tail glider, 2c- frilled neck lizard, 5c – echidna, 10c – lyrebird, 20c – platypus 2: 2c 3:1988, 4: 1c 2c 1966 50 cent, 5:12, 6: 6, 7: left, 8:RAM, 9:1992, 10: melted down for bronze medals 2000 Sydney Olympics

​Our Coin Collectors met on Monday 15th November at the Senior Citizens rooms.

Our small group continues to grow post Covid-19 as people reignite their interest in coins and others get stimulated through word of mouth.
​
David presented the group with a number of handouts related to decimal currency key dates and mintages for the various denominations. He also spoke to his handout that included large scale photos showing coin faults and what are in demand by collectors. These included 20 cent coins with the 2004 Big Head, 1966 Wavy 2 and 50 cent coins with the emu double bar and 2000 Millennium incused (depressed) flag.

Also circulated was a rotated (15 degrees) 20 cent piece where the obverse and reverse are out of alignment and a CUD (Coin Under Developed) coin where there is an imperfection left on the coin from the coin stamping process.

Bill circulated a number of silver (92.5%) coins including a $10 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games coin, a South Australian $10 coin and a 1982 proof coin set celebrating 150 years.

Wendy showed a very interesting 2000 Olympic relay pin album that depicted a map of Australia showing the towns where the Olympic torch travelled to prior to the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia. She also presented a bag of old pre-decimal coins to remind us all of the various denominations we all said good bye to in 1966.

​Doug Smith
Convenor
Coin Collectors
 ​

Gary showed the group two (1988/2006) proof solid gold $200 coins. The $200 Australian Gold Coins were a limited release legal tender coin produced by the Royal Australian Mint with a face value of $200. They contain 10g of 22ct gold (91.67% pure gold), which equates to 0.2948 ounces of 99.99% pure gold. Gary also passed around a silver coin set of four florins (1927, 1951, 1954, 1960). These coins looked very impressive and are for sale on the internet for around $1000.

​Wendy showed us three 1984 unopened and uncirculated mint rolls of $2 and $1 coins issued by RAM (Royal Australian Mint). Wendy also circulated a number of American coins including a rare American one dollar, 1987 Yellowstone silver $1, 1999 silver proof $1 all displayed in attractive cases and purchased from the Philadelphia Mint in USA during her trip there in 2016.
 
Bill presented the group with a series of magazines titled “Story of Currency in Australia”. They gave an interesting insight on how the price of Australian coinage has increased over the years.

Doug showed his recent RAM purchase from Australia Post of a 2021 $1 copper uncirculated two coin set celebrating 110 years of the first Australian Penny (1911 – 1964). He also showed a 2021 six coin set consisting of four $2 coloured and two $1 coins celebrating 30 years of The Wiggles. This coin set was purchased from Woolies Benalla and was considered good value at $15.

The Group has been focusing primarily on decimal coins but it was decided to shift this focus and introduce pre-decimal coins to the next show and tell meetings. David who is currently recovering from spinal surgery will on his return bring along some Variety coins (collectable coins with errors) including a CUD coin (Coin Under Developed), Rotated coins, coins with Privy and Mint marks. We wish David a speedy recovery. Our YouTube videos will also continue when time allows with PJ’s Coin Capers channel.


Regards
Doug Smith
Convenor
Coin Collectors

Our Coin Collectors met on Monday 20th September at the Senior Citizens rooms. 

​We had a roll up of six of our regulars for our show and tell.

Doug advised the Group that the Olympic and Para Olympic 2021 coins can be purchased from Woolies in Benalla and that the Benalla PO can order in coins from RAM (Royal Australia Mint)
David who has an extensive coin and note collection gave the Group the history of the dollar coin from its introduction in 1984 to replace the $1 note including 1992 when no dollar coins were minted to 1995 when collector coins were first introduced.

Rupe presented four interesting gold sovereign coins that belonged to his father. Two were full sovereigns dated 1925 and 1926 (George 5 head) and 2 were dated 1902 and 1908 (Edward 7 head). Rupe told the story of his father having these sewed into shirt by his mother to avoid losing them in a robbery, prior to him sailing to England in the late 1920’s.

Jill displayed some coins from her father’s collection and spoke of the issues around how to clean coins. The general consensus was hot water only as chemicals can cause the coins to lose their lustre and deteriorate.

Wendy presented her Legends of Anzac folder collection of commemorative coins.These consisted of folders and coins issued through local newsagents.

Doug brought along from his pre-decimal collection of pennies including two pennies of note. The 1925 penny is the lowest minted penny, with 170,000 produced, other than the 1930 penny with around 1,800 minted. He also had a 1914 penny the third lowest mintage of 700,000. Both specimens were in very good condition.

As a group we talked about continuing with a variety of themes for our meetings. At our next meeting we decided that David would bring along some Variety coins (collectable coins with errors) including a CUD coin (Coin Under Developed), Rotated coins, coins with Privy and Mint marks. Our YouTube videos will also continue with PJ’s Coin Capers channel and next meeting include mint/privy marks and forgeries.

Doug Smith
Convenor
Coin Collectors

We were fortunate to have another enjoyable  face to face meeting on August 16, in between Covid lockdowns.

Our change of meeting time to 1.30pm has been welcomed, with additional people attending and some old faces returning.

At our August meeting I introduced the Group to a YouTube channel run by a Melbourne coin collector called CJ’s coin capers. He has produced a number of very interesting videos on all aspects of coin collecting that makes for interesting viewing and is very educational whether you are a beginner or experienced collector.

The video the group viewed was titled “Australian Coins Not Meant for Circulation” It related to coins that were minted as Collectors sets but for some unknown reason ended up in general circulation. These coins often had unique mint or privy marks.

The intention will be to view a coin video at our future meetings that assist members with their knowledge of the coin collecting world.

At our meeting, members presented an interesting variety of show and tell stories.

David circulated several fake Bitcoin examples that drew a laugh from the group. He also handed around a set of 5 1881-1890 realistic but fake British sovereigns.

Gary showed a variety of coins including a 25 year anniversary coin of the fall of the Berlin Wall, British Commonwealth 1974 Olympic Games coin, 2010 50 cent Melbourne Cup coin, 50 cent 2011 60th Anniversary coin of National Service call up.

Wendy had an interesting collection of USA quarters she had collected while overseas from each American state.

Bill had found a 1912 halfpenny in his back yard. He discovered after watching the meeting YouTube video from CJ’s Coin Capers, that the coin had a unique double rim called a CUD (coin under developed).

Doug showed his recently purchased coloured $2 2020 Olympic coin set released through Woolworths stores on 18th August 2021. Woolworths also released in August a coloured $2 coin for the current Tokyo Para Olympics. All coins can be purchased at Woolies Benalla, if you are quick.

Our Coin Collector group welcomes anyone to attend our meetings on the 3rd Monday of the month, who has an interest in coins or would like to find out more about the own collection.

​
Doug Smith
Convenor
Coin Collectors

There was strong support from group members to the offer of changing our meeting time from 10 am to 12 noon to 1.30pm to 3.30pm for the third Monday in the month.  Our future meetings will therefore be at this new time. 

There was no meeting in July because of the Covid lockdown.   Our next meeting will be on Monday 16 August from 1.30 to 3.30pm. 

​I look forward to seeing your show and tell and hearing about your noodling.

Doug Smith

It's very easy to watch video programs from the website!  They can be screened from the website in the class room and at home.  This is the video planned for class at the new time slot of 1.30 to 3.30 on Monday 19th July, a session which has had to be cancelled because of the sudden 5 day lock down which commenced on Friday 16th.  You can view it on your pc, laptop, tablet or phone - you can also click to view it 'full screen'.   I have tried it and it works.

Thanks go to Bev, our website manager, for capturing the video and placing it on the Coin Collectors page.
 
Doug Smith, Convenor

I have had strong support to the offer of changing our meeting time from 10.00am to 12 noon to 1.30pm to 3.30pm for the third Monday in the month.
 
Our future meetings will therefore be at this new time.
 
Our next meeting will be on Monday 19th July 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
 
Look forward to seeing your show and tell and hearing about your noodling.
 
Doug Smith
Convenor
U3A Coin Collectors