The Kangaroo Office. Fact Or Fantasy?

Taylor's plan was to send a press to Australia and set up a private mint.
Was it; was it really?

That is not what the indenture of 1853 says.

Scaife Indenture 25 June 1853.

This Indenture made the twentyfifth day of June One thousand eight hundred and fifty three Between Thomas Hodgkin of Bedford Square in the County of Middlesex M.D. Peter Tindall the younger of Gracechurch Street in the City of London Ship Broker and William Joseph Taylor of Little (Queen) Street in the said County of Middlesex Medallist and Die Sinker of the one part and Reginald Scaife of Bedford Square aforesaid Merchant of the other part. Whereas the said Reginald Scaife is about to sail to Australia in order to settle himself there as a Merchant And whereas the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor are the owners of a stamping press and apparatus for the purpose of assaying and stamping gold and other metals together with dies for stamping the said gold into pieces of specific weight which have been prepared by Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor have proposed to the said Reginald Scaife that he should establish and carry on in Australia the business of purchasing Gold and Gold dust there and smelting and stamping the same by means of said stamping press and apparatus and Dies into pieces of Gold of certain specific weights and then purchasing other Gold and Gold dust by the barter of exchange of those pieces of stamped Gold for other unstamped Gold and Gold dust. And also of associating with such business the stamping of and dealing in other metals for stamping purpose only if the occasion should require And whereas the said Reginald Scaife has agreed to such proposal and also agreed to hire of the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor the sole and exclusive use of the said stamping press Apparatus and dies for the use of his said business during the term of ten years of commerce on the expiration of two calendar months after the arrival of the said Reginald Scaife in to Australia at and under the certain rent and other payments stipulations and provisoes and conditions hereinafter contained.
And whereas in part pursuance of the said agreement the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor have shipped on board the ship Kangaroo the said stamping press and apparatus deliverable to the said Reginald Scaife and have also furnished the said Reginald Scaife with the said dies for the purpose of said Business. And also shall and will from time to time as and when the said dies or any of them shall be worn out or injured so as to be incapable of beneficial use during the said term on request for that purpose furnish and supply other sufficient similar dies of the same rate and quality And also shall not nor will henceforth until the expiration of said term of Ten years determinable as aforesaid furnish any stamping press dies or other apparatus for stamping Gold to any person resident in Australia or for use in that Colony And shall not nor will henceforth and until the expiration of such term of Ten years be directly or indirectly concerned in any similar or other establishments for stamping gold in Australia. the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor their respective executors administrators and assigns as and by way of certain rent for use of the said stamping press apparatus and dies the yearly rent or sum of Thirty Pounds in each and every year during the said term of ten years determinable as hereinafter is mentioned such rent to commence on the expiration of two calendar months after the arrival of said Reginald Scaife in Australia and to be payable and paid by four equal quarterly payments in every year the first of such said rent to be payable and paid without any deduction for rates taxes or otherwise (whatsoever) and by remittance to this country in cash Gold or approved Bills on parties resident in this Country. And also shall and will in respect of every year during the said term determinable as hereinafter mentioned pay the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor in addition to the said yearly rent and by way of seigniorage a further compensation for the use of the said stamping press apparatus and dies a sum equal to two third parts of the amount by which the profits gained in the year by the said Reginald Scaife in his said business of assaying smelting stamping and dealing in Gold and other metal shall
exceed the sum of Two hundred. And also shall and will engage and employ William Brown of Ewell in the County of Surrey Engineer a party nominated and approved of the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor
and in whom they place much trust and confidence as manager and superintendent of the said stamping press and apparatus during the said term and not remove the said William Brown except in case of absolute necessity without previously communicating his intention so to do to the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor and having their sanction thereto. And also that the said Reginald Scaife shall and will Assiduously and diligently exert himself in carrying on the said business of assaying smelting stamping and dealing in gold and other metals in each year aforesaid and push the same to as advantageous an extent as possible and so as to stamp as many pieces of gold and other metals in each year as may be advantageously done. and inasmuch as the said Reginald Scaife must be necessarily entrusted with dies to replace those in use when worn out or impaired by use the said Reginald Scaife his executors or administrators shall not nor will give out other dies without calling in and defacing the dies so worn out and impaired which dies are to be forthwith returned to the said Thomas Hodgkin Peter Tindall and William Joseph Taylor their respective executors administrators or assigns in this country And also that the said Reginald Scaife shall and will keep proper books of account and enter therein all purchases of gold and gold dust made by him and the number weight quantity and price of all gold and gold dust when smelted into gold and stamped into pieces of specific weight as aforesaid and exchanged for other gold or gold dust and so from time to time during the said term whenever the same shall happen And shall also keep like accounts of the other metals to be stamped with the said dies... Provided nevertheless that in case the said Reginald Scaife shall die before the expiration of the said period of ten years Then and thenceforth the said rent and seigniorage or further compensation shall immediately cease and determine And the said stamping press and apparatus and all dies then in the possession of the said Reginald Scaife shall be forthwith delivered to the said William Brown.

Thomas Hodgkin, William Joseph Taylor,
Peter Tindall Jr, Reginald Scaife.

While looking at the old catalogue for the Stokes re-strike of the previous post I thought I would look through the other Kangaroo Office items on offer at that sale.
Eye catching is the lot of 8 pieces that are re-strikes. Of those eight uniface pieces two are of the two ounce round, i.e. the obverse and reverse.

Now it gets interesting because what is absent on the 2 ounce obverse is the common defect we see on the 2 ounce examples at the British Museum and at the Smithsonian. See earlier posts on page 2 of those rounds and note the 'mark' beneath the H in Phillip. They both have it and it appears to be identical on both.


Maybe it is just the photo but this 2008 re-strike offering does not appear to have that mark.

We know there are more pieces than the legend leads us to believe and we have the original die. Perhaps the Museum pieces are both re-strikes by Taylor from spare dies he had. This helps us understand why W.M. Brown is swanning around London in 1862 with the only full set of the the rounds, apart from one other in Melbourne (if we believe him).

It is not unrealistic to believe the two Museum pieces are not from the Kangaroo Office.

The 2 oz die from the Kangaroo Office (as found on the Victoria Museum website)

This is quite a curious piece and likely unique but seriously; how is it any different to some of what Gee did?
Just grab some dies and start pressing.

In a post above I compare two known examples of a 2oz with an official re-strike. I used the 1oz picture in that comparison so of course it is missing the mark below the H. This is the official 2oz and it seems to be missing the mark under the H.
Not the best picture.
I would like to see the missing Dixson piece because it still appears the two Museum pieces look like they are likely Taylor re-strikes from London.

Australian Coin Review is back and it seems there is some Port Phillip Office Controversy.
Why does the British Museum, in 1864, want a set of rounds nobody has had any interest since their manufacture in 1854?
How does a bullion round go from something nobody wanted to near apex coin?
I believe it is a two part article.

https://imperialcoins.com.au/collec...CeOb6eO6miY=

Since my first post on the Kangaroo Office back in Nov 2022 some points have changed as I have researched the matter but the fundamental view the numismatic narrative is rubbish has not change and the premise these pieces only exist on the numismatic radar after Vaux in 1864 still stands.

Having read the through the whole thread there are a few things I would change.
The gold price when Scaife is set up to press is one of those things.

London Times Sep. 8 1851 p. 7 col.
The only doubt I have is as to the quality of gold which may be found in any given
spot - whether the Australian broth is as thick as that of California. The quality of
Australian gold is superior; it fetches 3s.to 4s. per ounce more than California in
the Sydney market.

London Times Jan. 13 1853 p. 5 col.
Victorian gold is fine and pure.N.S.W. gold sells at £3.7.6 oz.Victorian field at Mt. Alexander, Bendigo and Ballarat yield at £3.10.9 even at Sydney.

The W Roth blurb on the History of Australian Coinage from 1895 that I mention in earlier posts claims the Messrs, in late '52 or early '53 become aware gold is going for 55s.

It doesn't matter where one looks they are going to see that the price is 68s-70s; not 55s. The thing I would change is the gold price as Scaife is ready to start pressing in 1854.

Gold price late 1852
The gold price as reported in The Argus 1st of the month
1852
Sept 1 67.5s
Oct 1 - 67.5s
Nov 1 - 68.5s
Dec 1 - 69.5s
Jan (1853) - 70s
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/88631/507910

Almost 6 months before the Kangaroo sails gold is 70s per ounce.

Price ends up around 76s the day after the Kangaroo arrives in 1853.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/98607/510527

Six months later the 1854 price is
April 26 -79s
May 26 - 79.5s
June 26 - 80s
July 26 - 80s
Aug - 80s
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4795808

As Scaife opens for business the price is at the London price (80s).
This is problematic because there is nothing to be made from making the bullion sets but as we have seen, in the Argus 15 Sept 1854, sets have been made.

A year later as Scaife prepares to 'shutdown' the press in 1855

Apr 3 - 76s
May 3 - 75s
June 6 - 75.5s
July 4 - 76.5s
Aug 24 - 76.3
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4816206


On the 27th of Aug the press is advertised in the Argus for sale.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/...hTerm=scaife

Scaife opens the Kangaroo Office in 1854 as gold peaks leaving no margin and to further complicate things the colony is awash with sovereigns so there isn't even a need for gold in bullion round form. The Port Phillip pieces are just expensive mementos of the exhibition should someone want to buy a set.

William Morgan Brown claims 27 sets were made, Scaife, in a letter home dated 9th Sept 1854, talks of two sets to be sent home to be forwarded to the Paris 1855 Exhibition should the Hodgkin's wish to do so.
Even though the gold price is at a peak in 1854, numerous sets are made.
I would finish this gold assessment by reminding people that in the Roth 1895 account it claims the rounds did not proceed because gold was 84s. Bollocks it was ever that much. The 55s is not accurate and the 84s is not accurate; Roth is not reliable and he claims he talked to Scaife. Perhaps Scaife is not that reliable 40 years after the fact.
The '55s' is a story that seems to have its origins with Scaife.

Having put that in order I would move to the idea Hodgkin is the key partner of the Messrs. Hodgkin may not be as key as is Tindall.
Hodgkin would be onboard for a venture to assist a budding colony that has associated with it establishing his son in law and wife in the colony.

Sharples of the Museum of Victoria seems to like this 'the store is the hero of the story' theory and it has much more merit than the waffle about 55s gold that makes the Messrs look like geese.

As they say "follow the money".
The money is in logistics at around £3 per ton to ship things from London to Port Phillip. Global shipping rates almost double from 1851 to 1854 and I now feel that in late 1852 Tindall builds a boat for the Australia run and it is a Tindall who talks Hodgkin and Taylor into being investors in this, can't lose, logistics venture and from that follows the store and the press. Add the store and the press and we have all the pieces and reasons why these 3 end up in bed together. The idea the venture was about chasing a gold margin is not how Hodgkin rolls and it makes the investor look like idiots because that plan is gone before the boat even sails. Do not forget Taylor can just ship his stuff at £3 per ton anytime he likes and in the Argus of late '52 there is plenty of spaces to let that would facilitate his dream. Taylor doesn't need a £13000 venture to make it happen.

The idea it was about a colonial goods store with a press out the back has merit but the real money, after looking at shipping rates through the period, is in shipping.
I am just flicking through the Argus from 1853 to 1859 and I see reports on the shipping rate. I know the Kangaroo is good for about 600 tons of goodies. It occurs to me that is around £2000 with passengers fares for a one way trip. A return run should easily net over £2000 after expenses. The Kangaroo would have only cost in the order of £9-11k to build based on the £ per ton cost to build a ship in the late '50s.

The Kangaroo is back in Adelaide on Dec of '54. It seems it can make the return trip in just over 14 months and note that it sits in the harbour for close to two months when it does come to Australia as it gets a back load and books passengers for the return run. The clipper pays for itself in about 7 years and then it is all free money and the boat is a capital investment that would be depreciating but still have some value.

From a financial perspective logistics is why Messrs buy a boat to sail to Australia. Smart Messrs do not buy a boat to ship a token press to a place where they know the gold margin isn't great and where there is no call for the bullion product they allegedly hope to peddle.

John Sharples of the Museum of Victoria speculated they go, go, go because they do not know the colony is over stocked with colonial good. The store should be fine. I think an even better premise as to why they proceed is the numbers relating to logistics. Follow the money.

The success, or lack of success, of Scaife's gold business and the store are the least of the ventures concerns.

Coinworks on Kangaroo Office pieces

The coins struck at Melbourne's 'Kangaroo Office' in the 1850s have been owned by some of the greatest collectors of our time; Montague, King Farouk of Egypt, J J Pitman and Quartermaster to name but a few.

(COMMENT: And these famous collectors all only showed interest after the 1864 Vaux elevation of the pieces from mementos of the Exhibition to pattern coins for national coinage. If Vaux says nothing then how much interest do such collectors have in bullion rounds from a failed store in Melbourne in 1854?)

The Kangaroo Office was a bold plan by English entrepreneurs to establish Australia's first privately run Mint. The planning phase began in London, in 1853. Coining operations commenced in Melbourne in May 1854. Three years on, after substantial losses, the mint was closed. While the plan had all the hallmarks of a farce, it left an important legacy for today's collectors and historians.

(COMMENT: If this was the plan then why did the 3 Messrs lease the press to a third party and sign away 1/3rd of the profits leaving each as a minority beneficiary? The Mint, actually an exhibition screw press, 'closed' early April 1855, i.e. less than one year after opening. The claim of substantial losses is unqualified)

William Joseph Taylor was an Englishman, and by trade an engraver and die sinker, active in the numismatic industry producing both coins and medals. He was an entrepreneur. And a shrewd businessman.
Towards the end of 1852 Taylor became aware that gold could be bought from diggers on the Ballarat fields at greatly reduced prices. His plan was to establish a private mint in Melbourne, strike gold coins and release them at their full value in London. To thwart currency laws, the designs were made to look more like weights than coins. Taylor himself cut the dies for a 2oz, 1oz, 1/2oz and ¼oz gold piece, each dated 1853.

(COMMENT: The "end of 1852" claim seems to have its origin in Roth's 1895 piece in the Queenslander and at that time, end of '52, as well are all sick of hearing, the gold price was stable around 70s. The old "his plan" allegation goes down in flames once one reads the Indenture where we see "his plan" turned out to be to become a 1/3rd owner of a leased press and a 2/9th beneficiary should the gold business go well)

Taylor formed a syndicate with two colleagues, Messrs Hodgkin and Tyndall: the three investing £13,000 in the enterprise. They chartered a fully rigged 600 ton vessel to transport the coining press, the dies and two employees, Reginald Scaife (manager) and William Morgan Brown (assistant).

(COMMENT: who formed a syndicate with who seems to be highly debatable? I seriously doubt Taylor came up with the Kangaroo venture and the Kangaroo Office is all about Hodgkin's son in law. Taylor seems to be the least likely to have been the ideas man behind the venture. For £13,000 they buy, not charter, the Kangaroo)

The vessel was aptly named 'The Kangaroo', then, as now, a symbol of Australia. Taylor's mint was known as the Kangaroo Office and was situated near Melbourne's Flagstaff Gardens in what is now Franklin Street West.
'The Kangaroo' arrived at Hobsons Bay on 23rd October 1853, and the huge coining press was deposited on the wharf. And there it sat. Unfortunately, it was too heavy to transport. The only option was to take it apart and move it, piece-by-piece, to the Kangaroo Office, where it was reassembled and put into working order.

(COMMENT: According to the Argus, who had their finger on the pulse of daily "Shipping Intelligence", the Kangaroo arrives on the 25th. In previous posts there are pictures of this "too heavy" press and I leave it to the reader to judge the movability of it. If it sits on the wharf then it is most likely because it has no where to go. An 1850's pre fab store is not like a modern throw tent. It takes time to find a site and assemble. It takes extra time in a town where most able men have run off to the diggings.)

The Kangaroo Office eventually commenced operations in May 1854.

(COMMENT: Most likely June/July according to Sharples)

The coins were struck in gold and featured a heavy broad engine-turned rim with a squatting kangaroo facing right and in sunken letters on the rim the words PORT PHILLIP AND AUSTRALIA.
The reverse depicted the weight of each piece in figures with the words PURE AUSTRALIAN GOLD above and the weight in letters embedded into the rim. Again the emphasis was on the weight rather than a value so as not to be construed as a 'coin'.

(COMMENT: Not a coin and also not a token by standard definitions. A bullion round or medal are the most apt descriptions)

The Kangaroo Office operated for three years striking examples from the original dies, although how many of each is unknown.

(COMMENT: Actually the press was out of action by early April 1855 and Scaife at that point thinks it is being shipped home.)

We do know that William Morgan sold a complete set of the four kangaroo patterns to the British Museum and was said to have informed the museum staff that a total of 27 sets were struck, of which all but one had been melted down. Reginald Scaife also told Sydney numismatist Dr Walter Roth that only one set had been issued in Melbourne. This set was displayed at the 1854 Melbourne Exhibition but what happened to it after that is unknown.

......

Taylor operated his Kangaroo Office for three years during which time he sustained substantial losses. With all hope of a profit gone, the dispirited promoters in London issued instructions for the Kangaroo Office to be closed.

(COMMENT: "His Kangaroo Office" ... "he sustained" ?"
It wasn't "his Kangaroo Office " and his investment in the Office itself was likely rather small. The narrative has all the trademarks of the usual Taylor this, Taylor that, narrative that was completely debunked in 2005 by Sharples who found the Indenture of Scaife.)