Aussie Token | Taylor & Challen Medal

I believe Taylor & Challen was the name of a company based around Birmingham, England whose engineers made the machinery for minting coins worldwide. I am surmising that there was some type of fair in Australia in 1964 and this medallion or token was struck to commemorate the minting machine.

I am pretty sure it is made of copper.

Maybe someone with some expertise in this area can weigh in on the subject.

Regards,

-Kurt

Leslie J. Carlisle: "AUSTRALIAN HISTORICAL MEDALS" n. 1964/1

I can certainly attest that, once the $2 coin was launched in 1988, these things suddenly began appearing in circulation. Not seen so much these days, because they're now considered to be worth more than $2. Not too much more, mind you; one million is a huge mintage for a medal. I paid $6 for a nice Unc one from a coin club auction; it lists at $5 in "VF to EF" in Carlisle's price guide supplement.

T&C deliberately made these advertising medals out of brass, because Australia had no brass-coloured coins nor any plans to issue any. It's hardly their fault if Australia issued an actual coin much the same size a generation later.

I mentioned them in this thread as a good example of Australian "circulating non-legal tender".

I found one of these yesterday in a bulk lot of foreign coins.
Brass, 20.42mm diameter and 5.73 grams.


If this was intended as an example of a top minted product I would give it about 7 out of 10. Nowhere near as much detail on the kangaroo as most pennies and halfpennies.

There are a few listed on ebay at $20 Buy it Now and a "collectibles" dealer has one on his web sales site at $49!
I would say about $6 is reasonable but, maybe, as much as $10 for a really nice one.

Jeff

I got about a half dozen of these way back at the British International Exposition in Sydney, in 1964.

That gives my age away a bit!

They are about the same diameter and thickness as an Australian $2 coin. They are composed of brass, not aluminium bronze. The fact that they are about the same size as a $2 coin is purely coincidental. The $2 coin was not even mooted then, and was not issued until 24 years after the Exposition of 1964.

Taylor & Challen knew the Royal Australian Mint was re organising to introduce decimal currency planned for February 1966. They set up a coining press at the Exposition in 1964, and was handing out these brass tokens for free, to help market their services and products.

Although these tokens are becoming a little scarce to find these days, they are in fact, fairly common.

I have to say; you are all masters of your art. I thought I was wasting my energy even typing into the search engine, but here I am.

I've been a member for 2 days, had four queries, and you've answered them all with me having to even wait really.

Thanks.