Gold Rush - The Paintings of S.T. Gill Enamel Penny 5-Coin Collection

Affordable, eye-catching and exclusive, Downies is proud to present the Gold Rush – The Works of S.T. Gill Enamel Penny 5-Coin Collection!

Comprising five genuine, full-colour Australian pennies, this collection forms a compelling chronicle of the Gold Rush – one of the most fundamentally important events in Australian history. Moreover, this collection gives you the chance to see the Gold Rush through the eyes of a man who was there – artist Samuel Thomas Gill. Capturing the essence of this pivotal moment in Australia’s march to nationhood, Gill’s paintings of life on the goldfields are superbly recreated upon the five coins in this collection. Rendered in full-colour, each design has been created with an exclusive enamelling technique!

Presented within an attractive case, complete with a beautifully illustrated, richly informative booklet, the Gold Rush – The Works of S.T. Gill Enamel Penny 5-Coin Collection is to be enjoyed by a select band of collectors. Ensuring a rapid-fire sell-out, the limited edition has been restricted to a mere 2,000!

With so few sets available worldwide, immediate action is strongly recommended. Click add to cart now!

The Gold Rush – a watershed in Australian history…

More gold was produced during the 19^th century than in the preceding 5,000 years. The huge mining booms taking place around the world during this period took gold production to unprecedented heights, with Australia, of course, amongst the most significant sources.

Gold was discovered in New South Wales in 1851, with the Gold Rush beginning in Victoria soon after. The initial boom lasted a decade and a half, with the total output for the first ten years a staggering £124 million worth of gold – £110 million from Victoria alone. A seminal moment in the creation of the Australian nation, the most obvious impact of the 1850s Gold Rush was on population.

Around 405,000 people inhabited the colonies in 1851 – by 1861 it had risen to well over one million. In Victoria, the centre of the rush for gold, the population rose from 75,000 to 540,000 in ten years. The prospect of finding gold in the east saw a severe exodus from South Australia, as the colony fell into a labour crisis, a currency shortage and near-bankruptcy. S.T. Gill was one of the South Australians who raced to the east, but rather than finding gold, he found fame in capturing life on the goldfields through his artwork.

After the chaos of the outbreak of ‘gold fever’, the discovery of the world’s favourite precious metal had a galvanising impact on the soon-to-be nation. The resulting rapid growth in trade, agriculture, transport and communication necessitated a sharp focus on responsible government, with colonial administrations now faced with demands from a growing population for roads, rail, water, land reform and more.

Forging a sense of national identity, sparking political awareness, and providing the wealth necessary for infrastructural development, the Gold Rush was the pivotal moment on Australia’s road to nationhood, ultimately achieved at Federation in 1901.

‘Samuel Thomas Gill, The artist of the Goldfields’

The words above are inscribed on S.T. Gill’s tombstone – illustrating his key role in capturing life during the most important period of modern Australian history.

Born in England in 1818, Gill migrated to Australia in 1839, settling in Adelaide in South Australia. Known for watercolours and lithographs, Gill initially did portrait work, as well as scenery, before – like so many South Australians – he headed east upon the discovery of gold in 1851.

If Gill did try to strike it rich, he wasn’t successful. By 1852, he was recording life on the Victorian goldfields, with his work so successful that it was ultimately published in London. Gill’s star rose, securing a string of commissions during the 1850s and 1860s – including a commission from the Melbourne Public Library in 1869 to reproduce his brilliant portrayals of life in the colonies during the Gold Rush.

Unfortunately, demand for Gill’s work declined, and so too did his health. In 1880, as he attempted to climb the steps of the historic General Post Office in Melbourne, ‘The artist of the Goldfields’ collapsed and died.