one dollar ten cents mule, decimal investment coin, rare 2000 coins
MULE: A COIN THAT HAS BEEN STRUCK WITH MIS-MATCHED DIES. IN THIS CASE
THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN MINT USED AN OBVERSE 2000 10C DIE AND A $1 MOB Of ROOS 2000 REVERSE! OTHER DECIMAL MULES INCLUDE THE
1988 COAT OF ARMS FIFTY CENT AND THE 1978 FIJI REVERSE FIFTY CENT.
The Australian 2000 $1 / 10c Mule is easy
to recognise...the double rim jump starts the hearts of even the most seasoned of searchers. One may have already graced your
palm...is it possible you missed it? Don't miss the next Golden Egg...Know thy Mule!
Pic: www.sterlingcurrency.com.au
Andrew Crellin offers this beaut image.
Sterling & Currency also sell on Ebay...
Follow the link below to see Andrews top eBay deals!
Obverse Comparison 2000 Mule / Regular Coin.
A great image from Peter at www.thesandpit.net
Warren R contributes this picture, Note the classic wider rim, this one off centre but complete!
OBVERSE: Struck with 2000 10c
Obverse Die - Smaller than the $1 at 23.60 mm it left a second outer rim. Effigy designed by Ian Rank-Broadley is noticeably
smaller. The outer rim can be found well centred, forming roughly the same width all around the coin or be
in varying degrees of rim width - wider / thinner on one side due to the 10c Die moving around during production.
REVERSE: Regular $1 2000 "Mob of Roos", design by Stuart Devlin.
Well Centred Mule.
www.thesandpit.net
It is accepted that three varieties of this coin exist due to the smaller
obverse die moving around during production.
1 - A perfectly centred 10c die strike, wide
rim all the way around the coin. 2 - Centred but the die was slightly tilted making the rim barely
noticeable on one side (usually 10-12 o'clock). 3- Off
centre strike - rim is not visible on one side (position as above -10-12).
PERFECTLY
CENTRED COINS ARE USUALLY WORTH A PREMIUM!
The Coin Production Process
- Andrew Crellin.
I
was doing some research into a coin I'd acquired some time ago, and to get a better understanding how how it came to exist
I wanted to get a really clear understanding of the exact production process that coins go through. This knowledge is particularly
important, especially if you're a collector of pattern or proof coins.
I've put together the following notes based on what I could find on the internet - I took bits
and pieces from a few different sources. If you can clarify or correct any of the information included, do let me know!
The process leading up to coins being struck is as follows:
The coin design is selected &
approved;
A sculptor creates a plaster model of
the coin's design. The artist will work from a drawn / sketched or computerized image to produce the plaster mould. Due
to the difficulty a sculptor has in working with a small surface area, the plaster model is always significantly larger than
the coin's actual size, and must be reduced to actual size.;
The plaster model is coated
with rubber and / or epoxy to produce a galvano. The rubber mould / epoxy galvano
is used because the original plaster design would be badly damaged by the image reduction process. Epoxy is a hard form of
plastic that allows for sharp design detail to be transferred.;
A Janvier Transfer Reducing Machine
is used to reduce the image on the epoxy galvano onto a metal master hub.
Once the master hub has been produced, the design is the same size as it will be on the coin itself. In order to ensure that
design is transferred accurately, a hub or die will be annealed and re-struck at least twice, if not numerous times
before it is finally ready. Dies and hubs are annealed at each step of the process, this ensures that the metal is able to
accept the design being struck onto it without being damaged;
The metal of the master hub is hardened;
A small number of metal master dies are
produced using the master hub;
These master dies are used to make working hubs;
The working hubs are used to make working dies;
The working dies are used to strike coins.
Prior to, or at the same time as this process is taking place,
the following steps happen:
Metals are melted and combined to produce ingots in the alloy required;
The ingot is rolled
into a sheet;
Blank discs (“blanks” or “planchets”) in the correct size are punched
from the rolled sheets;
The blanks are edged and / or annealed to prepare them for being struck;
The working dies are used to strike coins from the annealed blanks.
This information was kindly provided by Sterling & Currency Numismatics.
