最有價值的澳洲硬幣以及如何識別假幣

澳洲人是世界上最熱衷的錢幣收藏家。對許多人來說，這只是一種愛好，但對於真正的愛好者來說，這是一種經濟激勵，因為眾所周知，一些最稀有的硬幣會升值，可能價值數千美元。

Australians are renowned for being the world's most enthusiastic coin collectors.

澳洲人以世界上最熱情的錢幣收藏家而聞名。

For many, it's simply a hobby, but for the truly passionate, there's a financial incentive. Some of the rarest coins are known to appreciate in value and can potentially be worth thousands of dollars.

對許多人來說，這只是一種愛好，但對於真正熱情的人來說，這是一種經濟誘因。眾所周知，一些最稀有的硬幣會升值，可能價值數千美元。

There are coins of a particularly low circulation that can be worth their weight in diamonds today - but on the other hand some coins thought to be valuable are hardly worth more than the denomination stamped on the side.

有些流通量特別低的硬幣今天的價值可能與鑽石等重——但另一方面，一些被認為有價值的硬幣幾乎不比側面印有的面值更值錢。

Scammers have even capitalised on the hype surrounding certain coins, using nail polish remover to trick potential unsuspecting buyers into parting with their cash.

詐騙者甚至利用圍繞某些硬幣的炒作，使用指甲油去除劑來欺騙潛在的毫無戒心的買家，讓他們放棄現金。

As a general rule, the most valuable coins tend to be the products of mistakes or even sabotage at the mint, says Tomas Rodriguez, the director of Aussie Coins and Notes who is a member of the Coin Dealers Association of Australasia.

澳洲硬幣和紙幣主管、澳洲硬幣經銷商協會成員 Tomas Rodriguez 表示，一般來說，最有價值的硬幣往往是鑄幣廠失誤甚至破壞的產物。

'It's an illegal thing from the employee but that's what creates the intrigue and the interest,' the Canberra-based coin dealer tells me.

這位位於堪培拉的硬幣經銷商告訴我，“員工的這種行為是非法的，但這正是引起陰謀和興趣的原因。”

'Error coins is a whole category of collector.'

“錯誤幣是收藏家的一個整體類別。”

Errors have been very rare since the Royal Australian Mint opened in February 1965, in the Canberra suburb of Deakin, in time for the start of decimal currency in February 1966.

自從澳洲皇家鑄幣廠於 1965 年 2 月在坎培拉郊區迪肯開業以來，錯誤一直非常罕見，正好趕上 1966 年 2 月開始使用十進制貨幣。

A 2000 $1 coin with a double rim is a particularly valuable 'error coin', with examples in mint condition even fetching $10,000 to $12,000

一枚 2000 美元的雙邊硬幣是一種特別有價值的“錯誤硬幣”，完好無損的硬幣甚至可以賣到 10,000 到 12,000 美元

But that's exactly why certain coins produced unintentionally have become expensive collector's items.

但這正是某些無意生產的硬幣成為昂貴的收藏品的原因。

'This is what we call "mint sport" - someone's been cheeky at work and we think intentionally made a coin that was an error,' Mr Rodriguez says.

羅德里格斯先生說：“這就是我們所說的‘造幣運動’——有人在工作中厚顏無恥，我們認為故意製造了一枚硬幣，但這是一個錯誤。”

'They're not supposed to: they do get into trouble, they can even face legal consequences for that but for that to be done, the Mint has to know who did it and that can be difficult to work out.

「他們不應該這樣做：他們確實會遇到麻煩，他們甚至可能因此面臨法律後果，但要做到這一點，造幣廠必須知道是誰幹的，而這可能很難弄清楚。”

'Normally, we accuse the junior toolmakers - the 18-year-olds or 19-year-olds - of being cheeky as they are learning how to become toolmakers.

「通常情況下，我們會指責初級工具製造者——18 歲或 19 歲的人——在學習如何成為工具製造者時厚顏無恥。

'We never know what caused it - it's all speculation. We have robots that literally scan every coin - it's not easy to get error coins out.'

「我們永遠不知道是什麼原因造成的——這都是猜測。我們有機器人可以掃描每一枚硬幣——找出錯誤的硬幣並不容易。

The $1 coin from 2000

2000年的1美元硬幣

A 2000 $1 coin with a double rim is a particularly valuable error coin, with examples in mint condition fetching $10,000 to $12,000.

一枚 2000 美元 1 美元的雙邊硬幣是一種特別有價值的錯誤硬幣，完好無損的硬幣售價為 10,000 至 12,000 美元。

'That is a pretty collectable coin,' Mr Rodriguez says.

「這是一枚非常具有收藏價值的硬幣，」羅德里格斯先生說。

To collectors, this coin is known as the '2000 $1, 10-cent mule' - describing how a mould meant for the 10 cent coin was used to stamp $1 coins.

對於收藏家來說，這枚硬幣被稱為「2000 年 1 美元 10 分騾幣」——描述如何使用 10 分硬幣的模具來壓印 1 美元硬幣。

'You know how mules carry loads?'

“你知道騾子是怎麼馱東西的嗎？”

On the head side, featuring the late Queen, there is a double rim that's different to the standard rim of the usual $1 coin.

正面有已故女王頭像，有一個雙邊緣，與通常 1 美元硬幣的標準邊緣不同。

Only 3,000 to 5,000 of these error coins were believed to have been made when a worker at the Mint put the wrong mould, also known as a die, into the coin-making machine.

據信，當造幣廠的一名工人將錯誤的模具（也稱為沖模）放入造幣機時，這些錯誤硬幣中僅鑄造了 3,000 至 5,000 枚。

'That mold was fitted into the machine only for a portion of the year 2000,' Mr Rodriguez says.

「該模具僅在 2000 年的一部分時間內安裝到機器中，」羅德里格斯先生說。

'What they actually did, they put the die for the 10-cent coin went striking the $1 coin.'

“他們實際上做了什麼，他們把 10 美分硬幣的骰子放到了 1 美元硬幣上。”

A junior toolmaker was rumoured to have caused the error.

據傳是一名初級工具製造商造成了這個錯誤。

'They think it was someone working at the Mint - maybe a junior toolmaker; they do something to cause an error and a few thousand of them escaped the Mint unnoticed,' Mr Rodriguez says.

「他們認為這是造幣廠的工作人員——可能是一名初級工具製造商；他們做了一些事情導致了錯誤，其中幾千人在未被注意到的情況下逃離了造幣廠，」羅德里格斯先生說。

The most valuable $1 error coin from 2000 has a double rim that goes all the way around, and not just part of the way.

2000 年最有價值的 1 美元錯誤硬幣有一個雙輪緣，整個輪緣，而不僅僅是部分輪緣。

'On this particular one, what you're looking for is for the doubling to go the entire way around the rim,' he says.

「在這個特殊的球上，你需要的是在籃框周圍完成包夾，」他說。

'The ones that are graded by their authentication - the highest grade ones, they're worth up to $10,000 - even $12,000.

“那些通過認證分級的——最高等級的，它們的價值高達10,000美元——甚至12,000美元。”

'As the coin is more perfectly centred, or as the condition increases to a higher condition, then all the way up to $12,000 on the highest end of the scale.

“隨著硬幣更加完美地居中，或者隨著狀況提高到更高的狀況，那麼價格將一路升至 12,000 美元的最高端。”

'You're not going to find one anymore in that condition.'

“你再也找不到這樣的人了。”

The coins fetching top dollar would need to be certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service, an American third-party group that gives a coin a grading based on wear.

價值最高的硬幣需要經過專業硬幣評級服務機構的認證，這是一個美國第三方組織，根據磨損程度對硬幣進行評級。

A particularly valuable coin would have an MS60 grade signifying no circulation wear.

一枚特別有價值的硬幣具有 MS60 等級，表示沒有流通磨損。

Collectors began gathering at Perth's Crown Casino

收藏家開始聚集在珀斯的皇冠賭場