They lay undisturbed in a vault at Birmingham Mint for over 60 years. In perfect environmental conditions, they were preserved in all their just-minted glory.
The Heaton coins are blue-chip rarities and are held in the highest regard, respected for their extreme rarity and historical importance.
They also are a potent financial force and present an enviable track record of investment, running a parallel price-wise to the famous 1937 Pattern coins. (See history section)
Immediately after Federation the Royal Mint London and the Heaton Mint in Birmingham struck Australia’s Commonwealth coinage, our mint’s lacking the required facilities.
The Heaton Mint struck Australia’s circulating halfpennies in 1912, 1914 and 1915: pennies in 1914. Australia’s silver coins also became part of the Heaton repertoire. Shillings were struck in 1915 and Florins in 1914 and 1915. Each coin bore the distinctive ‘H’ above the date declaring their ties to the mint in Birmingham.
Proof quality strikings of the Heaton coins were unheard of until the 1970s when they were discovered by staff in the vaults at the Birmingham Mint: a small cache of flawless mint state presentation pieces, their hibernation for 60-plus years in a strictly static, controlled environment fostering a beautiful olive steel/grey patina.
The coins were dispersed through Spink & Sons London in the 1980s, eventually filtering their way into the Australian rare coin market.
Only one Heaton Proof Halfpenny is known dated 1914. Discovered in 1995 in the USA, it is the proud possession of a Coinworks client.
Two proof examples of the Heaton 1915 Shilling are known.
Only six proof examples of the Heaton Florin are known, four of the 1914H and two of the 1915H.
The price performance of the Heaton proofs over the past thirty five years (referring to both auction and private sales) is detailed below.
- Three Heaton Proof Florins appeared at auction in the 80s: the first in 1982 when it sold for $5100. By the end of the 80s the florin was fetching $10,100.
- In the 1990’s the three proof florins re-appeared, the average price of the 1914H being $22,100 and the price of the 1915H slightly higher at $25,500.
- The last few appearances of the Heaton Florin have seen auction realisations of $148,000 and $192,000.
- We have recorded private sales of a 1914 H Florin for $50,000 in 2003 and the same coin for $165,000 in 2009.
- The two Heaton Proof Shillings have followed a similarly successful growth path. First offered at auction in 1984 the coin sold for $10,100, re-appearing in 1998 for $25,300. The second example appeared in 2006 and sold for $88,500 on a pre-auction estimate of $60,000.