Coins of the colonies of Great Britain in Australia and Oceania

Among all the variety of English colonies in the region, own coins were issued only for Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and New Guinea. The review presents coins issued in these colonies in the first half of the 20th century.

 

The continent was opened to Europeans by the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, and was named "New Holland." This name lasted until 1824, after which the continent received its current name.

 

 

Before European colonization, the natives used all kinds of objects, shells, ocher and products in natural exchange. On January 26, 1788, the British landed in Port Jackson harbor and announced the creation of the colony of New South Wales, which was originally used as hard labor for convicted criminals. With the advent of Europeans, various European currencies appeared on the continent, which they used in settlements within the colony. Naturally, these were mainly English coins of that period of circulation.

 

Due to the lack of his own currency and the lack of available European money, in November 1788, Arthur Phillip, the governor of the colony of New South Wales, requested financial support from the metropolis. In 1790, the Kitty ship arrived in the colony, loaded with "Spanish dollars" (coins in denominations of 8 reais) in the amount of 4,500 pieces. These coins quickly left the continent, as they were calculated for goods imported from Europe, and therefore over the next 25 years, the colonists returned to natural exchange, using rum in the calculations, the reserves of which in the colony were controlled by officers of the New South Wales Corps.

 

In 1800, Governor Philip Gidley King made an unsuccessful attempt to restore order in the economy and issued a proclamation in which he established the exchange rate of the most common foreign money in the colony. In 1806, rum calculations were officially banned, which displeased the officers of the New South Wales Corps, who rebelled and removed the governor.

 

After arriving in the colony on November 26, 1812, another transfer of £10,000 in Spanish dollars, Governor Lachlan Macquarie finds a solution to the problem of the leakage of Spanish dollars from the continent. To do this, convicted counterfeiter William Henshall is instructed to "divide" the Spanish dollar into two coins: a small circle called the "dump" and a ring called the "leaky dollar." At the same time, one "leaky dollar" received a face value of 5 shillings, and one dump - 1 shilling and 3 pence (¼ leaky dollars). The cut mug had a crown struck on the obverse, face value on the reverse. The "leaky dollar" around the hole was marked with the "New South Wales. 1813" on the obverse and "five shillings" on the reverse. In the process of making new money, out of 40,000 Spanish dollars, 39,910 "leaky dollars" and 39,910 dumps were received, and 90 coins were spoiled. On July 1, 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, by his proclamation, gave the new coins the legal right to use as a means of payment, after which in 1814 the coins were put into circulation in the colony.

 

 

In 1816, the gold standard was introduced in Great Britain and the pound sterling became the main currency. Around the same time, South America was covered by a series of national liberation revolutions against the Spanish colonialists, which entailed the cessation of the receipt of Spanish dollars in the colony, massively minted at the mints of Lima, Mexico City and Potosi. In 1822, the colonial government began the procedure for the gradual withdrawal of "leaky dollars" and dumps from circulation, and in 1829 the use of these coins in settlements was officially discontinued. By that time, almost all coins had been withdrawn from the population and melted into ingots. According to experts, it was not possible to collect from the population only 350 "leaky dollars" and 1,500 dumps.

 

On December 17, 1825, English coins in denominations of £1, ½ crowns, 1 shilling and 6 pence were sent to Australia from England for use as currency for a total of £30,000.

 

After the discovery of gold in Australia, in 1852 the Adelaide Assay Office began issuing gold coins in denominations of 1 pound sterling, and the Royal Mint of Great Britain opened its branches in Sydney (1854), Melbourne (1872) and Perth (1899). Until 1910, these mints minted exclusively gold coins in denominations of ½ and 1 pound sterling (sovereign) with the profile of Queen Victoria (obverse) and a crown above the word Australia inside the wreath (reverse). These coins, as well as imported silver and copper English coins, continued to be used in Australia until 1910.

 

In 1898, the British government officially authorized the minting of copper and silver coins in Sydney and Melbourne, and in 1909 the Australian Government granted the Treasury the right to issue its own silver, bronze and nickel coins, which are equal in face value to British coins and have equal legal tender rights with them. The size, denomination, weight and sample of coins should be determined by the decree of the Governor General. 

 

Thus, in 1910, the first coins of Australia in denominations of 3 and 6 pence, 1 shilling and 1 florin were minted by the Royal Mint in London.

 

 

The coins feature a bust of King Edward VII on the obverse and the coat of arms of Australia on the reverse. Since King Edward VII died in 1910, the first issue was at the same time the last and only one.

 

The following year, Australian coins were issued with the profile of King George V. In addition to silver coins in the same denominations, bronze coins were issued in denominations of ½ and 1 penny.

 

 

In 1927, Australia issued a commemorative 1 florin coin dedicated to the opening of Parliament House in Canberra.

 

 

Obverse design by Edgar Bertram MacKennal, reverse design by George Kruger Gray.

 

In 1938, another line of coins was issued, with the profile of the next English monarch - George VI. In addition to the previously issued denominations, in honor of the coronation of George VI, a coin with a face value of 5 shillings (crown) with a Tudor crown on the reverse was included in the mint. Due to its size, the coin turned out to be inconvenient to circulation and extremely unpopular with the population. After re-release in 1938, its minting was stopped.

 

 

Almost the entire line of George VI coins, with the exception of ½ pennies and 6 pence, was released in a new design, with an individual plot for each denomination: kangaroo on a 1 penny coin, ears of wheat on 3 pence, merino sheep head on a shilling, "complex" modified coat of arms of Australia on florin, Queen Victoria's diamond crown on the crown.

 

In 1939, the design of the ½ penny coin changed. The reverse also featured a kangaroo, as did the 1p coin, but turned it in the opposite direction.

 

 

The reverse design of all coins of the line was also repeated on coins of Elizabeth II, produced in Australia in 1953-1964.

 

It should also be noted that the sample of Australian silver coins was reduced to 0.500 only in 1946, 26 years after it happened to coins in the UK. In addition, coins made of copper-nickel alloy were first minted in Australia only when switching to the decimal system, while, in fact, Great Britain itself and neighboring New Zealand abandoned the use of silver for minting their coins back in 1947.

 

The colonization of the island began in 1642, after the arrival of the Dutchman Abel Janszoon Tasman. The island was named by him after the Dutch province of Zealand.

 

 

Local Māori natives met the white colonists unfriendly and four members of the seafaring team were killed in the first skirmish. After that, the next visit of Europeans to the island took place only in 1769. Englishman James Cook made detailed maps of the coast and streams of Europeans poured into the island, changing metal tools and weapons for food, water and various artifacts. Muskets brought to the island led to numerous tribal battles, in which at least 40 thousand Maori died, and diseases brought by Europeans reduced the number of aborigines by another 60%.

 

New Zealand was originally part of the colony of New South Wales. In 1836, a confederation of Māori tribes sent a petition for protection to the English king William IV, in connection with the activation of French settlers on the island. On February 6, 1840, Captain William Hobson, on behalf of the Queen of England and some of the Maori leaders, signed the Treaty of Waitangi, the fundamental document for the subsequent independence of New Zealand. On May 21, 1840, Captain William Hobson declares British sovereignty throughout the island, and on May 3, 1841, New Zealand becomes an independent colony independent of New South Wales.

 

The bulk of the money on the island at the beginning of the 19th century was the same Spanish silver dollars, widely used around the world, and in New South Wales, in particular. Money was brought to the island by whalers, visiting travelers and merchants. In addition to Spanish coins, American, Portuguese, French and Dutch currency were in circulation. Despite the fact that New Zealand has long been a British colony, no law that recognized the British pound as legal tender has existed for a long time.

 

It should be noted that due to the lack of small coins in circulation, on the island in significant quantities from 1857 to 1881, private companies issued copper and bronze payment tokens in denominations of ½ and 1 penny, which were widely used in calculations (up to 50% of the total money supply of copper coins). The use of tokens in settlements was officially banned only in 1898, when the New Zealand Parliament ratified the English Coinage Act of 1870, securing the exclusive right to mint coins for the Royal Mint of Great Britain.

 

Despite the fact that the coins of neighboring Australia were also never recognized by New Zealand as legal tender, they were freely circulated throughout the island. By 1931, about 40% of all coins in circulation in New Zealand were Australian coins. Also, a considerable part of the coins in circulation accounted for coins of Great Britain. That is why, as well as due to the sufficient number of banknotes of its own issue in circulation, until 1933 there was no need for its own coins in New Zealand.

 

In 1933, the New Zealand Parliament was forced to pass a law on minting coins in connection with the devaluation of the exchange rates of Australia and New Zealand in relation to the British pound sterling due to the Great Depression and the subsequent large-scale smuggling of Australian and English coins from New Zealand back to their homeland. " By June 1933, due to the mass disappearance of silver coins from circulation, Canadian and American quarters were even found in circulation in New Zealand instead of shillings.

 

Coins of the first New Zealand issue were identical in size and composition of the line to coins of Great Britain and Australia of that period. A silver sample of 0.500 corresponded to a sample of English silver coins of the same circulation period. The design of the coins, as usual, was "specific," with a local flavor. The 3p coins depict crossed Maori patu clubs, the 6p coin shows a guia bird, the shilling shows a Maori warrior with a spear, the florin shows a kiwi bird, and the ½ crown coin shows the coat of arms of New Zealand. The profile of King George V was also different than on coins of Great Britain and Australia - it repeats the design of previously issued coins for Southern Rhodesia, developed by the British Royal Mint medalist Percy Metcalfe.

 

 

While the Artists' Association of New Zealand was proposing a first issue coin design competition to select the best design, the New Zealand Government commissioned working Royal Mint medallists Percy Metcalfe and George Kruger Gray to design the coins. The subsequent design choices for future coins led to conflict within the New Zealand Government.

 

The first, in November 1933, coins with a face value of ½ krona were put into circulation, and the last, in April 1934, were shillings. After that, New Zealand became the last of the British dominions to issue their own coins. Coins of Great Britain (except for bronze coins in denominations of ½ and 1 penny) from February 1, 1935 lost their status as legal tender.

 

It should be noted that when discussing its own currency, in 1933 even the transition to the decimal system was considered, which in the end was not supported .

 

In 1935, an extremely limited edition commemorative crown was released, called the "Crown of Waitangi." The circulation of the coin was 1128 copies (including coins minted as proof) and sold among collectors.

 

 

The next issue of coins took place in 1937, in connection with the coronation of George VI and completely repeated the design of the coins of his predecessor.  

 

 

Starting in 1947, the above denominations in New Zealand began to be produced on copper-nickel billets.

 

In 1940, on the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which determined the relationship between the British and Maori, three new coins were put into circulation - bronze denominations of ½ and 1 penny of regular minted and a silver commemorative coin in denominations of ½ crowns.

 

 

The introduction of bronze coins was provided for by the law of 1933, but while English coins of these denominations were in circulation, there was no need for minting. The winner of the competition for the best design of coins of the anniversary issue was the New Zealand artist Leonard Cornwall Mitchell (Leonard Cornwall Mitchell, 1901-1971). It was his sketches, after minor modifications by Percy Metcalfe, that served as the basis for the development of the design of coins of all three denominations. The ½ penny coin depicts the Maori wooden deity Tiki, and the 1 penny coin depicts a unique local bird, the New Zealand tui. Bronze coins entered circulation ahead of schedule, in 1939, due to a shortage of small bargaining chips.

 

Like the above territories, the Fiji archipelago was discovered by the Dutch - all the same navigator Abel Jansson Tasman in 1642. A century and a half later, the first Europeans settled in Fiji. They were fugitive convicts, shipwrecked sailors and traders. Despite this, it was not Europeans who made a significant contribution to the development of Fiji's statehood, but the local tribal leader Ratu Seru Epenisa Takombau, once a cannibal who later converted to Christianity. Tacombau united the tribes of the archipelago and organized his own parliament in the English manner. In 1871, Tacombau proclaimed himself king of Fiji, and in 1874 renounced power in favor of Queen Victoria. This is how Fiji becomes an English colony. It is from this year that sterling becomes legal tender in the archipelago. In parallel with English money, money from foreign countries, including New South Wales and New Zealand, also had circulation.

 

In 1914, the newly created Fiji Currency Council received the exclusive right to issue banknotes. The monetary unit of the state is the Fijian pound, equivalent to the pound sterling. However, the use of English coins in circulation continues for a long period of time, before the release of their own coins. It is not until 1934 that the Fijian pound is proclaimed the sole legal tender and the peg to the pound sterling is annulled.

 

So, the first line of Fijian coins was put into circulation in 1934. The composition of the line differed from the line of coins of Great Britain and most of its other colonies, since it lacked a coin with a face value of 3 pence. Threepence will appear in circulation in Fiji only in 1947, and will be made on 12 coal nickel-brass blanks. 

 

 

Note that small coins are made of copper-nickel alloy and have a hole in the middle, which makes them more similar to coins of the British colonies in Africa than to coins of neighbors. At the same time, the size and sample of silver coins of senior denominations corresponded to the coins of the metropolis itself. The circulation of Fijian coins is small, since the population of the archipelago did not exceed 190 thousand people at the time of the release of the coins of the first issue.

 

The portrait of King George V on the obverse is exactly the same as on New Zealand coins by Percy Metcalfe. On the reverse of the 6 pence coins is a turtle, on a shilling - a sailing canoe, on a florin - the coat of arms of the state of Fiji. The obverse design would continue on the coins of all subsequent monarchs until 1969, when Fiji switched to the decimal system.

 

The next 1p coin was issued with the legend of Edward VIII - the failed monarch of Great Britain.

 

 

The next, "incomplete" line of coins with the profile of George VI entered circulation in 1937. The line-up included 1p and 6p denominations, a shilling and a florin. After 3 years, a face value of ½ pennies was added to the line. The materials of the blanks and the silver sample remained the same.

 

 

In 1938, silver coins were reissued with changes in the portrait of the monarch (royal lilies do not cross the arcs of the crown), and with a different placement of the legend around the portrait of the monarch on the obverse. The silver sample remained the same.

 

 

In connection with the outbreak of World War II, coins ordered in the USA in 1942-1943 received a new material: brass instead of a copper-nickel alloy, as well as a standard "American" 0.900 silver sample instead of an English 0.500 sample. All coins bear the mint stamp "S" (San Francisco).

 

 

The last colony in our survey - New Guinea was discovered in 1526 by the Portuguese navigator Jorge de Meneses (Jorge de Meneses, 1498-1537). The island got its name in 1545, in honor of African Guinea, a resemblance to which was seen by the Spanish navigator Yñigo Ortiz de Retez.

 

Unlike previous territories, the expansion of Europeans to the island began only in the 19th century. A significant role in the study of the island and the life of the Papuans was played by the Russian traveler Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay, who lived on the island for 4 years.

 

 

In 1884, Great Britain declared the southeastern part of the island (Papua) its colony, then at the beginning of the 20th century transferred it to Australia. The northeastern part of the island (New Guinea) since 1880 was in colonial dependence on the German Empire. In 1920, following the results of the First World War, the territories of New Guinea were transferred to Australia for administration in accordance with the mandate of the League of Nations.

 

At the end of the 19th century, pfennigs and stamps were in circulation on the German part of the island, and British money on the British part of the island. September 1, 1906 in Papua, and September 12, 1914 in the territory of New Guinea, Australian pounds are proclaimed the only legal tender.

 

Special money for New Guinea was issued in 1929. These were two denominations - ½ and 1 penny on copper-nickel blanks, with a hole in the middle. The circulation of coins is small - 25 thousand copies. and 63 thousand copies. accordingly. Later, the entire circulation was returned to the Melbourne Mint, where 400 coins of each type were laid out in sets, and the rest was destroyed. Therefore, it is unrealistic for an ordinary collector to get these two coins in the collection. To get an idea of ​ ​ these coins, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with their images posted in the public domain on the Internet.

 

 

In 1935, New Guinea finally received its own money. It was a line of three coins in denominations of 3 and 6 pence and 1 shilling. It is noteworthy that coins in denominations of 3 and 6 pence were first made on copper-nickel blanks instead of silver, and silver has a high, 0.925 sample, and, in addition, all coins, including silver, have a hole in the middle. Designer - George Kruger Gray (George Kruger Gray).

 

 

Just as for Fiji, in 1936, it was "rushed" for New Guinea to issue a coin with the legend of Edward VIII in denomination of 1 penny.

 

 

A year after the coronation of George VI, in 1938, New Guinea issued two coins in denominations of 1 penny and 1 shilling. 

 

 

In 1943-1944, the line of coins was supplemented with denominations of 3 and 6 pence. 

 

 

It should be noted that New Guinea, the only territory mentioned in the review, was occupied by the Japanese in World War II. The occupying authorities did not issue coins, but were content with banknotes.

 

Materials on the topic of the colony of Great Britain:

Coins of the British Colonies in Africa