An Australian gold coin, once owned by one of the world’s great collectors, has hit the market

A rare Nobleman Gold One Pound coin minted 150 years ago in Adelaide from Victorian gold is being offered for sale for an astounding price.

The Nobleman Gold One Pound coin minted in Adelaide in 1852. Picture: Supplied

An exquisite example from what is claimed to be Australia’s first production run of gold coins is being offered for sale for the first time in more than a decade, with an asking price of $750,000.

The Nobleman Gold One Pound being offered was once owned by esteemed French collector Baron Philip Ferrary La Renotiere, whose collection, including what was considered the most complete stamp collection in existence at the time, was sold after World War I as war reparations by the French Government.

Melbourne’s Coinworks is now offering the uncirculated Nobleman pound, which was struck on September 23, 1852, at the Government Assay Office in Adelaide.

Coinworks managing director Belinda Downie said the first production run only produced about 50 coins before a crack developed in the die and as a result, fewer than 40 examples of the so-called Type One pounds are thought to still exist in the hands of collectors.

The obverse view of the Nobleman Gold One Pound coin.

Ms Downie said while a second production run made another 24,000 gold coins, they were soon found to be worth more in terms of their gold value than their monetary face value, and most were shipped off to London and melted down, with only about 240 of these thought to still exist.

Ms Downie said the coin, which is being offered for sale for the first time since 2009, is “in a virtually mint state’’.

“Not only the nation’s first gold coin, the reverse design of the Nobleman Gold One Pound

confirms it was minted in the very first production run of only 50 coins,’’ she said.

“As the coin’s track record shows, it’s proven to be an astute investment over time.

“Whoever buys the coin is buying a piece of Australian history dating back to 1852, but the coin is most likely to be a rewarding investment moving forward.’’

Ms Downie said the records show the coin sold for seven pounds and five shillings at Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge in London on March 27, 1922, as part of the Nobleman collection, named after Baron von Ferrary, who died in 1917.

Ferrary started collecting stamps early in his life and inherited a fortune, which he used to build what is considered by many in the field of philately as the most comprehensive collection of stamps ever assembled.

While he left his collection to Germany in his will, it was seized by the French Government and sold off in 14 separate sales as war reparations according to the Museum of Philately’s website.

The Nobleman pound then turned up in Australia in the late 1970s, selling for $28,000 in 1978, then again in 1980 for $70,000 against a pre-auction estimate of $30,000.

It was bought by its current, anonymous, owner for $340,000 at an auction in Sydney in mid-2009.

Ms Downie said the coin had been widely exhibited at museums in Australia, including the National Museum in Canberra and at the Royal Australian Mint.

Ms Downie said the coin was never given “kid gloves” treatment during the production process, but remains in remarkable condition.

“It was struck in what can only be described as a factory, hammered out and hurled down an assembly line, more than likely into a barrel or bucket,” she said.

“How this coin survived the production process, and, more than a century and a half later, still be in its original pristine condition is impossible to fathom. It’s the miracle that is numismatics.”