Frequently Asked Questions
Collections
If you want to sell me your collection, please note that what I can offer you and what I can sell it for having paid you are two different figures. Please do not offer to send pictures. I'll need to hold the items in my hands and look at them with my own eyes to be able to estimate their value. That being said, if something is lying around gathering dust, please let me make a deal with you and find it a new home.
-Roman Belousov 20250529
1988 50 cents
The 1988 First Fleet 50c coin is not rare. It was minted for general circulation and you'll easily find it in a big bag of change. What is unusual is that for some reason the standard Coat of Arms design featuring the kangaroo and the emu was not also minted that year. Or more precisely a few pattern strikes were made and one found its way into auction and then sold for about 15K, which is quite frankly a bit low for such a rare item.
When researching the topic, you may find articles such as these, completely misrepresenting the issue. Again, lazy "journalism" and fake news.
-Roman Belousov 20250531
$2 HH
Australian $2 coins dated 1988 & 1989 have the HH initials in the bottom left of the Aboriginal Elder portrait. These stand for "Horst Hahne" the sculptor of the image. Australian coins used to feature the designer's initials on both sides, but for some reason this was discontinued for obverses, which would be an interesting topic to look into separately.
In any case HH $2 coins are not rare and are not worth any more than face value, unless uncirculated, in which case still, they are worth several times the face value, not several thousand. One can go on ebay right now and find listings for 5 figures. I should create an index of these for some giggles, stay tuned.
Naturally, please avoid such sellers, it's a scam.
-Roman Belousov 20250531