Article of the Year
Five articles. One winner.
The votes are in, it was a tight race in the end but one article has come out on top…
1st Place – $1,000 • 2nd Place – $500 • 3rd Place – $250
At the Crossroads of Tradition and Change
- By Gregory Hale
- July 2025
1st Place: The Art on the One Dollar Note
In 1966, as Australia launched its Indigenous-inspired one dollar note, few paused to question the artworks’ origins. The note was meant to honour Aboriginal culture but beneath the surface is a tale of cultural appropriation, lost recognition, and artistic reinvention.
It was a pivotal moment in Australian history where Western and Indigenous art collided, exposing deep-seated divisions and sparking a movement that would forever change Aboriginal art.
Trade Token Tales I
- By Sebastian L. Harris
- December 2025
2nd Place: The Stories and Mysteries of Brisbane’s Trade Merchants in the 1860s-70s
In the dusty streets of nineteenth century Brisbane, the smell of eucalyptus is mixed with the sound of bustling crowds, and a curious currency jingles in the pockets of shopkeepers, workers and customers.
By the early 1860s, Queensland had become an independent colony with a population of 25,000-35,000 people. Most of these people were British immigrants who sailed to Australia during the gold rush of the 50s but were left disappointed and decided to offer their trades in growing cities instead.
Then There Were ‘Six’
- By Dr Adrian G. Dyer
- September 2025
3rd Place: The Discovery of a Proof Australian 1936 Half Penny
One of the great mysteries of numismatics is the existence of extremely rare proof bronze coins from the Royal Melbourne Mint during the reign of King George V, who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from the 6th of May 1910 until his death in 1936.
The first distinctively Australian Bronze coins featured an effigy of the new king by the Australian sculptor and medallist Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal and appeared on the new coins from 1911.