1966 Specimen Coin Set in VIP Presentation Wallet
| We Last Sold This Item For: | $4,950.00 |
|---|---|
| Last Sold On: | 12/10/2021 |
| # Sold In Past 12 Months: | 0 |
1966 Uncirculated Mint Coin Set VIP Presentation Wallet
| Denomination | Grade | Cert # | Denomination | Grade | Cert # | |
| 50c |
PCGS PL62 |
37508840 | 5c |
PCGS PL64 |
37508844 | |
| 20c |
PCGS PL66 |
37508842 | 2c | PCGS PL Genuine VIP Wallet |
37508845 | |
| 10c | PCGS MS66 VIP Wallet |
37508843 | 1c | PCGS PL Genuine VIP Wallet |
37508841 |
This set is a truly scarce slice of decimal memorabilia - the 50c at least looks to be unique in private hands.
The introduction of decimal currency to Australia in 1966 was of course a major event in our national history. A major component in the strategy to ensure that the new coins were accepted without hesitation from the outset was a strategy of informing opinion leaders and other influential parties far and wide of the new designs.
To this end, the Royal Australian Mint produced 520 special "VIP" wallets - these are a dusty blue colour, the clear wallets and cards inside them are slightly different from those issued for collectors.
If strongly rising values are any indication, collectors these days are increasingly appreciating the history and "cool" factor that 1966-related decimal memorabilia has.
Compare the number of these VIP wallets that have turned up at auction over the past few years with the equivalent number of 1966 twenty cent coins with the wavy baseline in UNC condition, and you get a clear understanding of why many collectors see these VIP sets as being excellent value for money.
Characteristics That Set the Coins Apart
Review the images of the coins that are included in this VIP set of coins, you can see they don't match the look of other VIP sets that have been sold or are on offer. The most startling difference is that the one-cent coin has what looks like a planchet error right across the reverse.
A planchet error like that is unusual enough on any decimal coin, but for it to be seen on a set of coins that were apparently presented to a VIP really is eye-catching. Aside from the lamination error, the surfaces of the copper coins are quite glossy (in contrast to the dusty surfaces normally seen on our early decimal copper coins), while the 50¢ has a mirrored look to it - quite different to the standard white frosty appearance that the 1966 silver 50¢ struck for circulation have.
A former employee of the Royal Australian Mint advised that "The wallets were stored in a locked cupboard within the Mint, access to them was restricted to only the most senior RAM staff." That same employee further stated that when a VIP set was required, RAM staff removed coins from one of the standard green and white "poly-pack" carded mint sets, and inserted the coins into one of the empty VIP wallets. The above description of this process indicates that, officially, only standard circulation-strike coins were ever included in the VIP presentation sets.
Two Production Runs Only - Proof and Circulation
Existing numismatic literature identifies only two production runs of 1966-dated decimal coinage - proof strikes and circulation strikes.
The only 1966-dated Australian coins sighted to date that exhibit technical characteristics different to the coins struck either for circulation or inclusion in proof sets have been a very small number of patterns or specimens struck for trial or sample purposes. A very small number of those specimens or patterns are held by public institutions in Australia, even fewer have been sighted in private hands.
Standard procedure for the VIP sets was for coins from the standard “poly-pack” mint sets to be included, however we understand that as James Miller Henderson was one of the two RAM staff with access to the cupboard that contained the VIP folders, it is not beyond reason to accept that some or all of the coins may have been sourced from somewhere other than one of the “poly-pack” sets.
A passage in the book "Heads I Win" clearly demonstrates that Henderson distributed “samples” to people outside the Mint when he deemed it appropriate to do so, and that his distribution was not always conducted under formal particular oversight by other RAM staff.
This set is an incredibly rare slice of Australian decimal currency history - the coins themselves may well be unique in private hands.
SKU: 22621
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