The Proclamation Coins 1788-1813

Some of the coins in circulation in the Australian colonial settlements

Note that the images are not to scale.
| The 1oz copper coin, the "Cartwheel Penny". This was the basis for other copper coins circulating at twice their minted value. Other denominations included the large 2d coin valued at 4d, the halfpenny valued at 1d and the farthing valued at ½d. The "Cartwheel" coins were struck in coin alignment at Matthew Boulton's mint in Soho, Birmingham using coining presses developed by Boulton and James Watt. The concept behind the broad, raised rim was to protect the coin from undue wear. The incuse legends were supposedly to make life difficult for forgers. The size of the coins was a (successful) attempt to restore confidence to the coinage in that the intrinsic value of the metal plus an allowance for the cost of production was equal to the nominal value of the coin. The cartwheel penny weighed one ounce avoirdupois and the twopence, two ounces.
| An English halfpenny dated 1799. This was not minted in the cartwheel style and does not weigh half an ounce because by the time the contract was let the price of copper had risen substantially. The coin is decidedly concave and reflects Boulton's judgment that this design was adequate for protection and his finding that it was easier to strike than the cartwheel coins.
| An English farthing dated 1799, not minted in the cartwheel style. It does not weigh a quarter of an ounce and the remarks for the halfpenny apply to this coin also.
| An English shilling, George III, 1787. Under the 1800 proclamation, it was valued at 1/1 in the Australian colonies.
| An English guinea. This specimen is the famous "spade" design. Conventional valuation was £1/1/- but King's proclamation set the value at £1/2/-. The spade guinea was struck in medal alignment.
| A half-guinea. This specimen is also of the "spade" design. In accordance with Governor King's proclamation, its value in the colonies would have been 11/-.
| Another guinea, this time of an earlier design. Unlike the spade guinea, it was struck in coin alignment. Note that the obverse is quite different from that of the spade guinea even though both picture George III.
| A silver rupee from India. Several different designs were in circulation in the Australian colonies and this is just one example. It was struck in medal rotation at the Murshidabad mint sometime between 1792 and 1818 and features oblique edge milling. Local value was 2/6. Please don't ask me anything about these coins. Check Nupam's web site instead.
| A gold mohur from India. Issued by the East India Company as a trade coin, it was minted during the Bengal Presidency at the Murshidabad Mint between 1793 and 1811 (1202 AH, Frozen Year 19) Local value was £1/17/-. It is about the same size as the silver rupee and likewise features oblique edge milling. It was struck in medal rotation. The designs on the mohur and the rupee are very similar but not identical. Please don't ask me anything about these coins. Check Nupam's web site instead.
| A gold half-mohur from India. Like the mohur, it was issued by the East India Company as a trade coin. It was minted during the Bengal Presidency at the Murshidabad Mint between 1793 and 1818 (1202 AH, Frozen Year 19) Not explicitly mentioned in King's proclamation, its local value was naturally 18/6, half that of the full mohur. The design is very similar to that of the full mohur and was likewise struck in medal rotation. Please don't ask me anything about these coins. Check Nupam's web site instead.
| Two gold pagodas from India. Like the rupee, several different designs circulated in the Australian colonies. The first example is from the state of Mysore and was minted under Haidar Ali between 1761 and 1782. The obverse features Sivan and Parvati. The second example is of a well-known design, called the "star pagoda" because of the prominent feature on the reverse. This particular specimen is encrusted with iron oxide which partly obscures Vishnu on the obverse. It was minted under the Madras Presidency sometime between 1740 and 1807. Pagodas were tiny, bulbous coins about 9mm in diameter and weighing 3.4g with a proclaimed local value of 8/-.
| A gold trade ducat from the Netherlands. In Governor King's proclamation of 1800 this coin was given a value of 9/6. The ducat was struck in coin alignment.
| Another Dutch coin, this time a silver guilder (alt sp. gulden). These were minted in several regions and this specimen comes from Holland province. Its local value was set at 2/-. Unlike the ducat, this coin was struck in medal rotation.
| This is a "Spanish Dollar" or "piece-of-eight" and was the nearest thing in existence to a world currency unit at the end of the 18th century. It formed the basic currency of most British colonies of the time, including, of course, those in North America. The specimen shown was minted in Mexico as indicated by the mint mark at about 8 o'clock on the reverse just before the denomination, 8R, signifying eight reales. It was struck in medal rotation. Local value was set at 5/-. Click on the picture to see one way a coin like this might have been used ...
| An earlier 8 reales coin. This one was known as the "Pillar Dollar" and bears the date 1759. Like the one above, this is also from the Mexico Mint and was struck in medal rotation.
| A half-Johanna from Portugal or its colonies. This 6400 reis (4 escudos) coin had a local value of £2. The specimen shown is from Brazil. It was struck in medal rotation.
| A Johanna from Portugal or its colonies. This 12.800 reis (8 escudos) coin had a local value of £4 and was the highest denomination coin covered in King's proclamation of 1800. The specimen shown is from Brazil and weighs 28.5g. It was struck in medal rotation.
| This gold 8 escudos coin was the Spanish equivalent of the Portuguese Johanna and as such had a local value of £4. The specimen shown is from the Potosi mint in Bolivia and was struck in medal rotation. The Potosi mintmark is the monogram at the bottom of the reverse, just left of centre.
| Another de-facto proclamation coin, this 4 escudos coin was the Spanish equivalent of the half Johanna and as such had a local value of £2. The specimen shown is from the Madrid mint in Spain and was struck in medal rotation.

[ Home Page | Australian coins ]

Visitors

Most recent revision: 12th July 2004
Copyright ©2002-2004 Triton Technologies International Ltd
All Rights Reserved.