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Coin valuations

06 December, 2009

Australian Coin, January 26, 1788 showing woman with shield and ocean with lighthouse and ship.
Source: Museum Victoria

Question: What is my coin worth?

Answer: We get frequent questions at the Museum as to the value of coins and medals (and other objects from a range of different areas) that people may be holding.

Unfortunately Museum Victoria is not able to provide valuations of coins, or indeed of any items.

How to get your items valued

Published price guides for items such as coins, antiques and stamps are often available through the municipal library system, and commercial dealers specialising in these items can be helpful.

A rough guide to current worth can sometimes be obtained by a search for similar items on online auction sites, although due caution should be exercised.

Another helpful resource is the Cultural Gifts Program’s 'List of approved valuers'. This is a Commonwealth-approved list of professional valuers, listed by state and specialty. These experts may charge a fee for their services, but they can be contacted for confirmation of any applicable fees or charges.

You can view the list in the reference library in the Discovery Centre at Melbourne Museum.

To get your own copy of the list, and for further information about the Cultural Gifts Program, contact:

Secretariat
Cultural Gifts Program
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6275 9651
Facsimile: (02) 6275 9664
Email: cgp.mail@environment.gov.au
Website: http://www.arts.gov.au/tax_incentives/cgp (The 'List of Approved Valuers' is available as a pdf download in the right column of the website.)

Please note: Museum Victoria cannot tell you how much your object is worth. Please read this infosheet for further advice. We will not publish or respond to comments asking us to value an object.

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Comments (32)

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Value of coin? 1937 George VI & Queen Elizabeth Coronation.

I HAVE A VICTORIA D:G BRITANNIAR:REG:F:D: 1881 GOLD COIN. BUT ON THE REVERSE SIDE THE IMAGE IS UPSIDE DOWN! DOES THIS MEAN IT IS FAKE?

Hi Dave - As noted in the text above unfortunately Museum Victoria cannot provide valuations of objects including coins. Published price guides for items such as coins, antiques and stamps are often available through the municipal library system, and commercial dealers specialising in these items can be helpful. Another resource that may prove of assistance in this area is the Cultural Gifts Program’s List of approved valuers.

Hi there,I just want to find out a bit more info on the Medal-Sabbath school celebration Australia 1889 and was wondering what value it would roughly have,Found it in my back yard,Cant find much info about it, Thank you, Jason.

I am just curious, if anyone that has asked a question here can actually read? I love research and sites like this but; I can’t help but notice all the people who fail to do their work before trying to have it done for them. Let me tell you, your chances of hitting it big on some coin you have, is slim to none. Don’t get me wrong, keep looking, but leave these people to do their jobs and actually think for someone else other than you. I know you can think on your own. It will be fun, kind of like being a detective. The information we have available is amazing. You should try it some time.

I have a Edwardvs VII coin it has everything on it as described bar the s mint mark on the ground. Is this a real coin or a copy.

Hi i have a 1815-1896 sir henry parkes 1 dollar coin i was wondering worth anything. I find it interesting !

I have a near perfect (a little polish would be good) a medal "to Commemorate the first visit of the Commonwealth Fleet to Sydney" dated Oct 4 1913. It shows a battleship (dreadnaught) in the harbour with I guess Sydney town in the background. Could someone tell me if it is worth anything monetary wise. Regards Tom Storrie

I have a commemoration of the establishment of sunday schools medal dated 1880 Robert Raikes is on one side of the medal.Are these rare ?.

quisiera saber como puedo obtener informacion sobre medalla al merito de j.c.chaplain,dubois, año 1898,plata, 120 grs.recibida herencia. gracias

Hi Ricky, you will find plenty of information online regarding options for valuations, check out the links on the right hand side of this page. Alternatively, if you would like to offer the coins to the museum, please read the donation guidelines.

i have found a set of reg.no.nu 16151 red book uncirculated coins what should i do with them

Alfred, there were many coins and medals struck in relation to the 1880 exhibition. If you are proposing this medal as a donation to Museum Victoria's collection, please do so using this form, giving us as much information as you can about the particular item in your collection.

Sorry, Sam - we're not sure which coin you're referring to. In any case, determining the validity of a coin is best done with the advice of a coin specialist who can examine the item in your possession and advise accordingly. Each mint had its own traditions regarding marking or not marking their coins.

I have a coin in bronze for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition. I live in the US. Is there any interest in this coin?

Hi Siva. The museum can't authenticate coins and, as with valuations, you should contact a numismatist. There could be Edward VII coins from a number of countries, so without images and details, it's not possible to tell you more about it. If you do a simple web search for 'Edward VII coins' you will come up with a number of websites that may give you further information.

hey, my family is from Sri Lanka and on both my grandparents side they have Edwardvs vii coins and I'm wondering if they are real or fake and the exact description and mint of these coins. thanks

Very easy site to find info

I have a medal of Victoria Regina ET IMPERATRIX ARMIS EXPOSCERE PACEM CHINA 1900. want to known the cost of medal.

My friend found an 1857 M Somerville token using a metal detector on the island of Martha's Vineyard, USA. It's in amazingly good condition for all the years. If only it could talk...

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Hi Bill,

Thanks for the offer, but unfortunately, we won’t be able to publish your photo. We will, however, eventually get around to photographing ours, but in the meantime, enjoy your medal!

I have a commonwealth confederation medal 1901 which you have no picture of would you like to see it cheers bill

I HAVE A VICROTIA SILVER COIN & I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT IS THE COST OF IT THIS TIME 2013

Hi, I have found a coin with J.A.Wilson Palace Hotel on it with 6d in the middle on the other side it has D H across the middle. Could you tell me anything about it? Thanks John

Hi John, to do identifications we usually require an image. Without seeing your 'coin' we would imagine that this is a hospitality token similar to those on from the Palace Hotel on our Collections Online website. In fact we have a large number of these tokens in our collection, which possibly functioned in a similar way to the other trade tokens that were used as both replacements for coins and advertising for businesses in 19th century Australia. Information on the Palace Hotel on Bourke Street can be found in the book Whelan the wreckers, on the State Library of Victoria's Cole Tetlow Index, in the Encyclopedia of Melbourne here and here, and in numerous newspaper articles on the Trove website.

hi, i have a five cent 1971Mauritius coin Queen Elizabeth second Face to the right does anybody know the value ?

My friend has a 1899 Australian sovereign with Regina on one side and George slaying the dragon on the other. It has markings around the edges but we can't read them. We have only been able to find references to this coin as being gold, yet hers is silver. Any ideas? All we can think is that either it's a fake (a very good one apart from the colour) or a proof. Any clues would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hi Robyn, as far as we are aware the sovereign only came in gold. But other coins of the period featured exactly the same design and did not have the denomination marked. They were only identifiable by size and material. The 1899 Crown, an example of which we have in our collection, is silver and features this design. We suggest that you note the measurements of both these coins in our collection and measure your own to check which denomination it is. If you still think it's a sovereign we suggest that you contact a numismatics expert to find further information.You can find an expert by clicking the Numismatic Association of Australia link at right under 'External Links'.

I have two old pennies dated 1896 and 1907, would these be Australian or British coins, appreciate if you can advise.

Hi Peter, it's quite difficult to identify a coin based on a description. You may want to do a little further research by looking at our post on Numismatics and following some of the suggested research options there. Otherwise we do have an Identification page through which you can send images of the coins and we will endeavour to identify them for you.

1897 oueen victoria coin george on horse back AS DESCRIBED ALL WORDINGREGINA FID DEF ANY INFO PLEASE

Hi Sharon,

Please refer to our Coin - Crown, Queen Victoria, Great Britain, 1897 webpage.

Image Gallery

Proof Coin, 1 Penny, Australia, 1930. Penny proof (1930), George V, Australia. Australia's most valuable coin. No coins were issued by the Commonwealth in 1930 but this proof was prepared at the Melbourne mint in case orders were received.

Five shilling coin from Australia - also known as Holey dollar 1813.

Coin - gold 1/4 stater from Great Britain, c. 125 BC.

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External links

Numismatics Association of Australia

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