The 1937 Australian Crown was Australia’s first crown sized coin, measuring a 38.5mm in diameter and a hefty 28.3 grams in weight. It was issued in 1937 to celebrate the coronation of King George V and had a (relatively) low mintage of 1.008 million. It’s large size made it deeply unpopular with the Australian public and it was derisively known as “Casey’s Cartwheel”, a typically Australian jab at the the Treasurer who was responsible for the coin.
Because of the distinctive nature of the coin it was hoarded by the Australian public and is fairly easily obtainable in grades of EF and higher. As of time of writing (December 2019) you’d look at paying $40-$60 for an EF coin, $60-$100 for an almost uncirculated example, and $100+ for a typical uncirculated coins. The very large size of the 1937 crown means that the portrait and fields are subject to bag marks and because of this choice uncirculated and gem graded crowns are very hard to find. At time of writing just 75 of more than 500 coins submitted to PCGS have graded MS64 or higher.
When purchasing a 1937 crown look for a fully struck up portrait and look for the top of the crown on the reverse to be fully struck too. Avoid cleaned or damaged coins, and ideally bag marks should not be present on the important part of the coin (the king’s portrait).
