This coin is part of a series consisting of two coins released by the Royal Australian Mint called the $10 Numismatic
Series.. The series was released in order to pay tribute to most significant milestones in the history of Australian numismatics.
This commemorative silver proof coin features a replica of the Sydney Mint Sovereign Pattern. In the mid 1800;s it was decided
that the Royal Mint would open a branch in Sydney. The pattern was struck initially at the Royal Mint in London as part of
a series of tests to search for a design to be used for minting in Sydney. Both the obverse and the reverse of the coin has
been reproduced using state of the art technology to be used within this commemorative coin. The replica part is struck into
gold plated silver and this is surrounded by a ring of pure silver. There was a limited
mintage
of just 10,000 and a historically important and as a beautiful coin it is a very popular collectors item.
The reverse of this ten Dollar proof coin was designed by Valdimir
Gottwald and as mentioned above features the reproduction of the Sydney Mint Sovereign Pattern in the centre. This features
the Royal crown and the
legends
AUSTRALIA SYDNEY MINT ONE SOVEREIGN. The pure silver outer ring features the
legend
s 1853 SYDNEY 2003. MINT PATTERN. TEN DOLLARS. The obverse was also
designed by Vladimir Gottwald and again features the obverse of the original
sovereign piece. It features the effigy of the young Queen Victoria. The silver outer ring features the portrait of Queen
Elizabeth II at the top centre of the ring. The
legend
reads ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2003. The coin was issued in a red presentation case with a booklet outlining the historical
events that led up to the production of the original coin. The outer box has a photograph of the
commemorative
coin and the text Sydney Mint Pattern 150 Years. 1853-2003.
In the mid 1800's Australia was experiencing the Gold Rush era and the decision was made by the Royal
Mint in London to open its first overseas branch.
(Royal Australian Mint, 2003)
Once the decision to open the new branch had been made a series of patterns was required to be designed and tested for
use in the Sydney Mint. It was important that designs were different from those of the Imperial sovereigns in order to be
able to differentiate between them. The task was given to James Wyon, an engraver who designed the original Sydney Mint Pattern
sovereign.
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