Adelaide Pound - Type II, Coin from South Australia - detailed information

Adelaide Pound - Type II, Coin from South Australia
CoinAdelaide Pound - Type II

A coin-shaped ingot guaranteed to be worth a pound. The Colony of South Australia backed their valuation by giving exact details of the purity (22 carats) and weight (5 pennyweight and 15 grains) of the piece. It was made from gold brought to South Australia from the Victorian goldfields in 1852.

The One Pound ingots were made by the South Australian government to solve a major problem in the local economy caused by people leaving for the gold fields and taking most of the colony's money with them. The ingots were made illegally, without approval from Britain. By the time the written request for authority to make the pieces had arrived in England and the British Government's refusal had returned to Adelaide, the Assay Office had already opened, solved the problem by issuing the tokens and closed.

Since the gold value of an Adelaide pound was slightly more than its face value, shortly after their mintage most coins had already been melted. Those that survive tend to be in EF-AU condition.

MintAdelaide Assay Office Mint MarkNo mint mark Total Mintage 24,648
Obverse
South Australia / Adelaide Pound - Type II - obverse photo

At centre a crown within ornate circle; below, 1852; around, *GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE* ADELAIDE.

Obverse Inscription GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE ADELAIDE 1852
Reverse
South Australia / Adelaide Pound - Type II - reverse photo

At centre within ornate circle, VALUE / ONE / POUND; around, * WEIGHT 5 DWT: 15 GRS: * 22 CARATS.

Reverse Inscription VALUE ONE POUND WEIGHT 5 DWT 15 GRS 22 CARATS
EdgeMilledEdge InscriptionNone
Notes

Additional references:

[Book] Andrews, Arthur. 1921. Australasian Tokens and Coins.

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Royal Mint
Royal Mint
Adelaide Pound - Type II: References to Information Used
SourceEditionAboutLinkNotes
Museums Victoria Collections 2016 Coin description link
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes Mintage
Museums Victoria Collections 2016 Design link
All (2) coins of type: One Pound
Coin NameMintageEffigyLegend
Adelaide Pound - Type I 50 Imperial Crown - St Edward's Crown and the Tudor Crown GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE ADELAIDE 1852
Adelaide Pound - Type II 24,648 GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE ADELAIDE 1852
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Adelaide Pound - Type II: Details
CountrySouth Australia
CurrencyAdelaide Pound
Coin TypeOne Pound
Issued1852
MonarchQueen Victoria
Face Value1 (x Pound)
Total Mintage24,648
CurrentNo
Material0.9167 Gold
DesignerJoshua Payne
TechnologyMilled (machine-made)
ShapeRound
Size23.0000 mm
Mass8.7700 g
OCC IDJWMR-AOQP-CQGQ-EYPL
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Adelaide Pound - Type II: Photos
ImageDetails
Adelaide Pound - Type II: Photo Ingot - 1 Pound, Second Die, Adelaide Assay Office, South Australia, Australia, 1852 / thumbnail Ingot - 1 Pound, Second Die, Adelaide Assay Office, South Australia, Australia, 1852
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Source
Adelaide Pound - Type II: Photo Ingot - 1 Pound, Second Die, Adelaide Assay Office, South Australia, Australia, 1852 / thumbnail Ingot - 1 Pound, Second Die, Adelaide Assay Office, South Australia, Australia, 1852
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Source
Adelaide Pound - Type II: Photo Australia 1852 pound Dentilated / thumbnail Australia 1852 pound Dentilated
Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA
Source
Adelaide Pound - Type II: Photo Australia 1852 pound Dentilated / thumbnail Australia 1852 pound Dentilated
Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA
Source
Adelaide Pound - Type II: Catalogue Reference IDs
SourceReference ID
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the WorldAustralia 3
Krause, Standard Catalog of World CoinsAustralia / South Australia KM# 2