2016-07-26 Tue

A rare Invercargill 1863 Samuel Beaven token is being sold for $400 on Ebay by an Australian seller. Experts believe that the tokens were made by merchants to counter a shortage of pennies in those days. Samuel Beaven was an ironmonger and general merchant who had a farm outside Invercargill in 1859 and opened an ironmongery store in 1861. He sold his business in 1866 before moving to Fiji. This token is very rare as Beaven melted all the unused coins after he sold his business.

Officials state that these tokens were made in London using a stock reverse die for Australia featuring the emu, kangaroo and motto "Advance Australia". There is no evidence as to how many such tokens exist today.

Experts state that in 1864 the Southland Provincial Council had its own £1 and £5 notes printed, but they were considered to be worthless.

The Beaven penny is priced at $110 in used condition and $500 in "very fine" condition.

The coin features light graffiti scratches on the obverse.