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Rare Australian penny to go on display in Sydney

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IANS Sydney

A rare Australian proof penny worth 1.4 million Australian dollars will be put on display on Friday in Brisbane for the first time as part of a Coin, Banknote and Stamp Show in Brisbane.

Australian proof coins are collector pieces that were never intended for everyday use, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

The coin is one of only six struck at the Melbourne Mint in the 1930s and was previously housed in the British Museum until the 1980s when it was traded for the 1852 Adelaide Pound Cracked Die, Australia's very first gold coin.

A Sydney family now owns the penny after they bought it in 2005 for 620,000 Australian dollars ($451,120).

 

Three of the six pennies are privately owned, with the other three can be found in the British Museum, Museum of Victoria and the Art Gallery of South Australia.

The penny going on display is considered to be the finest of all the six coins.

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First Published: Oct 09 2015 | 12:20 PM IST

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