£3,000 Profit !
p. 33 · Read in the full issue
Out of New Guinea Pennies
“171DWARD” pennies of the Mandated JLi Territory of New Guinea now are fetching from 2/- to 5/- each in some Brisbane shops. These, dated 1936, were issued during the short reign of Edward VIII, and his initials appear on the reverse side.
Fiji, British West Africa, British East Africa, and the Mandated Territory of New Guinea were the only countries in the British Empire to issue such coins.
In 1938. a young resident of Rabaul had £5O worth of them stowed away in a camphor-wood box —against the day when they would become valuable. He enlisted in 1939, and was killed in Crete.
What became of the pennies is not known; but at present prices those pen nies would be worth somewhere between £1,200 and £3,000!
A New Britain plantation manager who was going recruiting had to give the Administration a £5O bond, about 1937.
When it was refunded, he took it in “Ed ward” pennies. Later, he got another £3O worth—making 20.000 pennies in all.
He started selling the pennies in Austra lia in 1938 at 2'6 each. When the price dropped to 1/6 each he withdrew them from sale. Now they are selling readily at anything up to 5/-. If he is averag ing 3/- per penny, he is going to make a profit of nearly £3,000.