Australia 1937 Crown

Minted and released in the same year the 1937 Australian Crown was minted both as a commemorative of the Coronation of King George VI and also to trial the large coin in circulation. It was minted to demand and proved to be popular with an eventual mintage of 1,008,000. It turned out that the popularity was mostly because the coin was souvenired and hoarded by the Australian public to the degree that newspaper reports of 1938 suggested it was hard to find one in circulation. As a coin for use in day-to-day commerce it was deeply unpopular due to the size (38.5mm diameter) and weight (nearly 28 grams) of the coin. Because of the size the coin quickly gained the derisive nickname “Casey’s Cartwheel” with Casey being a reference to Richard Casey who was the Australian Treasurer who championed and introduced the coin.

1937 crowns are not hard to find in uncirculated grades because they were hoarded extensively. However they are much harder to find in choice grades because the sheer size of the coin almost guaranteed heavy bag-marks during the production process. At time of writing PCGS had graded 37 crowns of this year in MS64 and just 3 in MS65. Collectors looking for a decent uncirculated example should expect to pay $100-$200 while a choice example could be $300 or more. Those looking for a circulated example shouldn’t pay too much more than the bullion value of the nearly three quarters of a troy ounce of silver each coin contains.

Coin Information

Obverse: George VI facing left
Obverse Legend: GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP.
Reverse: St Edwards Crown above date
Reverse Legend: COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA ONE CROWN
Obverse Designer: Thomas Humphrey Paget
Reverse Designer: George Kruger Gray
Mint: Melbourne
Edge: Reeded
Composition: Sterling Silver (92.5% Silver, 7.5% Copper)
Diameter: 38.5 millimetre
Mass: 28.27 grams
Mintage: 1,008,000