Ingot - 1 Pound, Second Die, Adelaide Assay Office, South Australia, Australia, 1852

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This item is on display at Melbourne Museum

Summary:: Australia South Australia Adelaide
One Pound 1852
Struck from the second die
Mint: Adelaide Assay Office

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 iilegally, 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.
Description:: A gold coin (23 mm diameter milled edge) with, on the obverse at the centre a crown within an ornate circle; below, 1852; around, * GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE * ADELAIDE. and on the reverse at the centre within ornate circle in three lines, VALUE / ONE / POUND; around, * WEIGHT 5 DWT: 15 GRS: * 22 CARATS.
Acquisition Information:: Transfer from National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), 1976

Tagged with:	gold rushes
Themes this item is part of:	Numismatics & Philately Collection, HRH Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
On Display at:	Melbourne Museum
Primary Classification:	COINS
Secondary Classification:	Australia - South Australia
Tertiary Classification:	working strikes
Series:	Assay Office
DateEra:	1852 AD
Denomination:	1 Pound
Obverse Description:	At centre a crown within ornate circle; below, 1852; around, GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE ADELAIDE.
Reverse Description:	At centre within ornate circle, VALUE / ONE / POUND; around, * WEIGHT 5 DWT: 15 GRS: * 22 CARATS
Edge Description:	milled
Inscriptions:	Obverse: GOVERNMENT ASSAY OFFICE ADELAIDE 1852 Reverse: VALUE ONE POUND WEIGHT 5 DWT 15 GRS 22 CARATS
Shape:	Round
Material:	Gold
Issued By:	HM Queen Victoria, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1852
Mint:	Adelaide Assay Office, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1852
Artist:	Joshua Payne, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1852
References:	Andrews No.724
Bibliography:	[Book], Dr Arthur Andrews, Australasian Tokens and Coins, Trustees of the Mitchell Library, Sydney, Sydney, 1921