If you’ve discovered an Australian 2c coin with a frill neck lizard design, it’s time to pull it from your stash and check it for a tiny detail that could make it worth hundreds of dollars.
The design on the copper coins, by artist and metalworker Stuart Devlin, is usually accompanied by his initials beneath the reptile’s belly, but in two mintages throughout history, the tiny marking reading “SD” failed to appear.
The Perth Mint calls the anomaly “a mystery”, so it is unclear whether the initials are “missing” or “omitted”, and whether the coin is, therefore, a mint error or a variety coin.
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Either way, the mystery makes the coin rare, and valuable.
One of the coveted coins, a professionally verified and graded specimen is currently selling for $499.99 on eBay, another for $395.
“A must-have for any enthusiast or serious numismatic collector,” one of the listings reads.
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Australian coin dealer Drake Sterling Numismatics described the coins as “very difficult to source” and noted that those sold in excellent condition have sold for over $1000.
The frill neck lizard coins which do have Devlin’s initials have still skyrocketed in price since they were minted, with some currently sold by Downies Collectables for about $165.
This 1966 frill neck lizard coin with the designer’s initials is selling for $395, but some in better condition have sold for more than $1000. Credit: ebay
The Perth Mint made 16,995,000 of the frill neck lizard two-cent coins, and said that “on an unknown number of these coins, the famous designer’s initials are missing.”
“We now know that ‘SD’ is also missing from some 1967 and 1981 issues.”
The coins were withdrawn from circulation in 1992.
So if you find yourself a two-cent coin underneath an old carpet, or while poking around a vintage purse, or pulling apart an old piano, keep an eye out for a set of initials, or a lack thereof — it could make you a pretty penny.
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