To believe that such an unrivalled rarity survived is almost beyond imagination.

Perhaps it may even be the long-lost 1930 Australian Penny's reverse die?

Ultimately, the actual first in numismatics isn't the first strike of a circulation example or even a presentation specimen — it is the original die itself, the very instrument of creation from which all coins owe their very existence.

To encounter one, let alone the very die used to strike the first series of Australian Pennies under George V, would be almost impossible for most.

Working dies were typically systematically destroyed after use or kept within official institutional collections, making surviving examples exceptionally rare. 

Unique as a published example of a pre-decimal Australian coinage die. Private Treaty, ex-Ray Jewell Collection. 

Exhibition Announcement

Aventine Coins & Bullion will present this item for public viewing at the upcoming Auckland Numismatic Expo and Coin and Banknotes Fair, early 2026.

This will mark the first exhibition of the die to the public, offering visitors a rare glimpse of an object foundational to Australian numismatics. 

Aventine Coins & Bullion

sales@Aventine.co.nz