1934-35 Melbourne Centenary Florin

Specifications

Denomination: florin
Series: George V commemorative florin (Melbourne Centenary)
Designer: Percy Metcalfe (obverse); George Kruger Gray (reverse)
Years of issue: 1934-35
Composition: 92.5% Silver, 7.5% Copper
Weight: 11.31 g
Diameter: 28.5 mm
KM: KM 33
Mintage: 54000
Key mintages: 75,000 struck; 54,000 sold/issued, 21,000 unsold melted (Online Coin Club; Trade Me). Proof/specimen mintage unverified.

Melt value: $21.67silver $64.40/ozt, copper $0.44/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

AI-generated illustration (no usable free real photo found). Design reference: Online Coin Club, Rare Coins Melbourne, Wynyard Coin Centre.

54,000 issued out of 75,000 struck (21,000 melted) — Australia's second circulating commemorative florin, with a crowned George V obverse and a horseman-with-torch reverse.

History

75,000 were struck and sold at a 3-shilling premium (face value 2 shillings); Depression-era buyers purchased only 54,000, and the 21,000 unsold coins were returned to the Melbourne Mint and melted (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16).
It commemorates the centenary of the colony/state of Victoria (founded 1834) and the foundation of Melbourne (1835); celebrations ran October 1934 to June 1935 (Online Coin Club; Wikipedia 1934 Centenary of Melbourne, accessed 2026-09-16).
It is the second Australian circulating commemorative coin, after the 1927 Canberra florin — not the first, correcting the commonly repeated claim (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16).
The obverse is the only crowned effigy of George V by Percy Metcalfe on an Australian coin, and the only Australian pre-decimal coin with its obverse legend in English rather than Latin (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16).
The reverse by George Kruger Gray adapts the centenary logo’s equestrian figure to a circular coin format (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16); the horse represents the century’s transport and Victoria’s exploration, settlement and industry, while the rider’s torch symbolises progress and enlightenment (World of Coins, accessed 2026-09-16).

Key dates and varieties

1934-35 — single-year commemorative issue; 54,000 issued (Online Coin Club)

Specifications

alignment
composition
designers
diameter
edge
mint
weight

Collector notes

KEY DIAGNOSTIC MARKERS: reverse shows a naked rider advancing left holding a flaming torch aloft, legend CENTENARY·VICTORIA·MELBOURNE·1934-35· / KG / FLORIN (Rare Coins Melbourne); obverse legend reads GEORGE V KING EMPEROR in English with a crowned and robed bust — the only Australian pre-decimal coin with an English obverse legend (Online Coin Club). This separates it from the 1927 Canberra commemorative and all coat-of-arms florins.
Proof/specimen count UNVERIFIED: a proof/specimen 1934-5 Centenary florin (KM.33) exists (Christie’s auction record) and the Melbourne Mint’s ad hoc 1916–1953 collector issues included 1934/1935 strikes (Coinworks), but no consulted source confirms a figure — do not repeat the ’75 proofs’ or ‘500 proofs’ claims without sourcing.
St Paul’s Cathedral link unverified: no consulted source ties the design to St Paul’s Cathedral; the design symbolism is the horse (transport/settlement) and torch (progress) from the centenary logo (World of Coins).
Value factors: original 3-shilling issue premium and the melted remainder are the story behind scarcity; well-struck, naturally toned examples command premiums (Rare Coins Melbourne).