A recent trip to Adelaide provided me with the opportunity to look at the local coin shops in the hope of some local material being available. No success due to the inroads of eBay and so on. Items such as tokens are acknowledged, but not in stock due to high demand, or so I am told.
In general my visit was disappointing although a couple of events did help to make my day. The first was the sighting of coins scattered along the footpath of Rundle Street. These are embedded in the concrete with an occasional missing item but impressive none the less. I really paid attention when I caught sight of a 1937 crown. Chatting to the proprietor of Rundle Coins, I was advised that the coins were part of a street art project supported by the local council. The young artist apparently was quite serious about obtaining a good range of material and included in the items spread around are some very expensive American items as well as some expensive local items.
Each coin has a stud attached to it and was embedded in the concrete slabs the footpath is made of. Initially vandals would lift out whole slabs and break them up to try and retrieve the coins but this soon stopped as it really would have been a small return for the effort. So the footpaths of Adelaide are not paved in gold, just copper and silver in selected spots.
The other event came from frustration. I was so desperate that I was looking in all of the jewellery shops as well as the coin and antique stores and I was referred to another store in Rundle Mall. I was given a piece of paper with a rough map and when I stepped outside of the shop I happened to turn it over and there was a three buck note. The three buck note is an advertising item th
at I have in my collection for the Gold Exchange. The slogan is ‘Money is as hard to find as a three buck note’. This store was the Adelaide Exchange Jewellers. I did a W. A. and went straight back into the store to ask if I could have a couple more and if there were any varieties. Only one type was available but I was gently directed to the Rundle Mall store. There I was more successful and walked away with a fist full of three buck notes and a total of four varieties.
Unfortunately that was the extent of my numismatic victories although as mentioned I did have a chat with the proprietor of Rundle Coins who I had last met four years ago. He advised that he did make it up to an ANDA show in Brisbane one year but this was a while ago. He also suggested that I should not wait for another four years to visit as he hopes to retire soon.
The other coin or stamp shops were polite but uninterested unless you colle
cted Australian coins or the main stream material that they had in the window. In some cases the front shop person did not know their stock and were quick to suggest that perhaps Sydney or another capital city would have that type of material. As stated previously a disappointing situation.
The only other item I purchased while in Adelaide was a membership pass (1935) for the South Australian Tattersales Club. Not quite numismatic but a good ‘go with’ item.
Regards M. C.