Sale 137 Preface

Welcome to Sale 137 which is being held over five days for a total of 3191 lots. The first day, Monday 25th November is an eSale online only with a large selection of militaria and world war medals in 321 lots.

The room auction commences on Tuesday morning at 9.30am with miscellaneous Australian coins, misstrikes, mint rolls and Perth Mint issues. 

The next session commences at 11.30am with Decimal proof coins, followed by Decimal coins in the 2.30pm session. The fifth session at 4.30 pm commences with Australian Historical medals which includes a number of gold examples followed by Australian and New Zealand tokens of which the William Allen Jamberoo penny 1855 (lot 845) is a highlight. New Guinea and New Zealand complete the session.

The evening session at 7.30pm commences with a series of Proclamation coins in gold, silver and copper, followed by a high grade Holey Dollar 1813 (lot 951) and dump, Australian gold includes an attractive Adelade pound 1852 (lot 958, est. $15,000) and two 1855 Sydney Mint sovereigns (lots 960, 961). Australian Commonwealth includes some very rare condition census early proofs and shillings, sixpences and threepences, 1925 penny (lot 1087) (est. $7,500) (ex George Fenton Collection) and two 1930 pennies (lots 1090, 1091) (est. $18000; $12,000).

The next day, Wednesday, the sale commences at 9.30am with some miscellaneous items including gold ingots and bars, jewellery and watches, followed by a large run of Australian gold sovereigns and half sovereigns. Then at 11.30am Australian Commonwealth coins are offered, crowns to halfpennies.

At the next two sessions (9 and 10) we offer part 2 of The Mark E. Freehill Collection of British Commonwealth and world banknotes, featuring an important collection of Fiji (176 lots), Ceylon and Burma, as well as some early Pacific Islands. 

The entire British series of coins in gold, silver and bronze, and historical medals are offered in the 7.30pm session. Here the outstanding highlights are a Charles I Oxford Mint silver pound, 1642 (lot 1776) (est. $15,000) and a gothic crown 1853 (lot 1821) (est. $20,000). 

The next session commences at 9.30am on Thursday with World gold coins followed by silver and bronze through the 11.30 am session which includes further selected album lots from the Stephen Turner Collection, (Straits Settlements, Sarawak and British North Borneo). 

The 14th session 2.30pm session is devoted to Orders, Decorations and Medals. The highlight of the sale and this session is a Victoria Cross for Australia group of medals awarded to Cpl Daniel Keighran VC who was awarded the Victoria Cross for the most conspicuous acts of gallantry and extreme devotion to duty in action in circumstances of great peril at Derepet, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan as part of the Mentoring Task Force One on Operation Slipper in 2010 (lot 2474; est. $1,250,000). 

Another highlight is an All Tivoli Theatres Pass in 15ct gold in the shape of a Victoria Cross issued “For Valor” by The Hon. Hugh D McIntosh M.L.C., governing director of the Tivoli Theatres, to Lance Corpl T.J.B.Kenny VC who was awarded the Victoria Cross in World War I (lot 2475; est.$15,000). Other interesting items include Italian Messina Earthquake Medal 1908 awarded to an Australian (lot 2373; est.$2,500), a group of four World War II medals to a Tasmanian who was killed serving as a Stoker on HMAS Parramatta II that was sunk while part of the “Tobruk Ferry Service” (lot 2446; est. $800), a Victory Medal 1914-19 to a Stoker Petty Officer serving on the Australian submarine AE1 that disappeared during World War I in New Guinea and was not found until 2017 (lot 2387; est. $900). 

A Naval General Service Medal 1793-1840 for French Revolutionary Wars with a scarce “Blanche 19 July 1806” clasp to an Assistant Surgeon who later migrated to Melbourne and established a medical practice there in the 1840s (lot 2289; est. $7,000). 

Other lots feature a WWI trio to a British sailor killed at the Battle of Jutland (lot 2340; est.$550) and an OBE, MC and MID group of eight to a British Army officer later posted to the RFC and served in the RAF in WWII (lot 2236; est.$7,500) and an RAN “Scrap Iron Flotilla” Tobruk Siege group (lot 2443; est. $900). 

World banknotes and Australian decimal notes follow at 4.30pm with Australian Pre-Decimal and private notes at 7.30pm. 

The sale concludes on Friday 29th November with miscellaneous items, literature, ancient coins (featuring a selection of Greek from the David Worland Collection) and stamps at the 9.30am and 11.30am sessions. 

On behalf of the Company I wish to thank all of the consignors for their support in making this a memorable sale and wishing you every success in your bidding.

Jim Noble