Just got off the phone with a dealer in OZ (Bigfella)
These coins were not done by the mint.
they are nice but not of Australian Numismatic value
there are however some nice Kookaburra pattern coins to be found in Maccas 15th edition s on page 341
These were minted in 2002-2005
Spink is the Uk representative of Downies- they may have been created by them
BACKGROUND of the Patina Patterns
Initiated in 1999 there was an idea to produce an official series of six legal tender Millennial coins for a Commonwealth country, like the Solomon Islands or Zambia, which would feature the six monarchs of the twentieth century; Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II. British Sculptor Donald R. Golder completed the task of sculpting twenty Royal portraits, which were inspired by contemporary coinage models.
The envisaged six-coin series never came to fruition, but two of Golder’s royal portraits were eventually featured on the 2001 Zambia coinage set which commemorates the death of Victoria and the accession of Edward VII in 1901.
A parallel series of modern high quality unofficial “retrospective patterns†for Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, New Zealand, South Africa, and Southern Rhodesia have been produced using all of Golder’s modern obverse portraits, coupled with modern reverses which are based on old designs. All the unofficial pieces offered in this part of the sale have therefore been struck in the years 2000-2001.
A.G. Wyon’s original model for the reverse of the 1910 Pattern crown, has been used to inspire some unofficial “pattern crowns†for George V and Edward VII. William Wyon’s “Three Graces†design, personifying Ireland, England and Scotland, has been the inspiration for a quantity of modern Victorian “patternsâ€.
There is a modern “wreath crown†of Edward VIII featuring a new version of Kruger Gray’s popular reverse motif and several modern “patterns†for Ireland, which emulate those of Reginald Huth.
