Lot 4179

Sale 113 · Important Australian & World Coins, Medals, Tokens & Banknotes

Description

Early Australian gold miner's brooch, c1890s, 'Kalgoorlie', handcrafted in gold (15ct, 18.5g, 65x40mm), gold pin-back. Extremely fine and rare, a splendid example of late Victorian goldfields' jewellery.

In a case by W.Dunkling, 313-317 Bourke Street, Melbourne.

The gold jewellery created by local jewellers for miners and their families was usually ostentatious, often incorporating non-traditional emblems like the mining tools they used including buckets, picks, spades, shovels, sluices and pans.

In 2014 an 1890s-era Kalgoorlie goldfields' miner's brooch similar to this piece sold for $16,470 (including buyer's premium) at Bonhams, Sydney. This was three times its lower estimate.

Estimate
$15,000
Result Status
Passed in

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