Coinage of New Guinea

[malj1]

The German New Guinea coins and banknotes are all quite scarce and are keenly sought after by Australian collectors; this keeps the price high. They would only have has a limited circulation as German New Guinea fell to Australian forces following the outbreak of the First World War.

[davidrj]

20 years circulation in the tropics should have left some pretty ropey specimens - where are they?

David

[andyg]

Only good examples here,
http://www.ma-shops.co.uk/shops/maCategory.php5?catid=140&catName=German+New+Guinea&lang=en&sortby=preis_eur
Plenty of them, but no worn ones....

[malj1]

The bronze coinage was not well accepted. Minted value of the bronze was 20,000 marks with 2000 marks being brought to the colony in 1895. Virtually all the remainder was melted down; 13,000 Marks in 1900 and 3068 Marks in 1904. Australia occupied the German Colonies in September 1914 allowing the coinage to circulate briefly alongside Australian coinage. The currency was to be replaced with Australian coinage by the time the first force left in January 1915. The proclamation was dated March 11 1916 made absolute in 1920 by another.

The German coinage was shipped to Australia. Silver weighing some 106,873,05 ounces of .900 fine silver were refined and converted into Australian coinage in 1921.

So I make this about ten years circulation at most! 

[davidrj]

Thanks Malcolm, useful info

 

David

[malj1]

I came across some of the German New Guinea coins for sale here

Warning! no doubt the prices will upset some viewers! 

[malj1]

The Head Tax Discs.

The Territory of New Guinea Head Tax Discs, all are in aluminium with a diameter of 35mm.
From the beginning of the Australian Mandate period [1921-42] the tax was fixed at 10/-. The government patrol official, having previously advised the village chiefs, went to the native villages to collect the tax from each male villager and handed out these discs as a receipt. This was maintained until the Japanese invasion in 1942 which caused their cessation.

These two discs were seen on eBay recently along with another.

I now have four years of the Head tax tokens all uniface aluminium 35mm.

[malj1]

Last week saw Noble Sale 116 where the 1929 New Guinea specimen penny and halfpenny were on offer.

Lot 1462 penny realised AU$700 and Lot 1463 halfpenny realised AU$600

Note.
Australian Government GST (Goods & Services Tax)
A GST of 10% of the buyer's premium will be added to all accounts. That is with a buyer's premium of 17.5% the buyer will be required to pay an additional 1.75% or a total of 19.25% on the hammer price.

[<k>]

Beautiful old coins. Sounds like a bargain. 

[malj1]

Yes they went very cheaply and no doubt many people have said "I wish I had known!"