June 10, 2011
Left: Melbourne (*Type I) Right: Perth (*Type II) Foy and Gibson Bags
A Foy Bag is a little paper envelope that does or once did contain a 1934-5 Melbourne Centenary Florin. The commemorative florin was given as change in the special paper pouch to those who shopped at Victoria's first department store Foy and Gibson during the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The Great Depression put great strain on living expenses and the authorities had trouble selling the commemorative florins (for 3 shillings each - 150% of face value) which had been minted for the centennial celebrations of the founding of Victoria (1834) and the establishment of Melbourne (1835). Department store Foy and Gibson Pty Ltd purchased 30,000 of the coins (which would otherwise have been melted down) to give to their customers in the special envelope so they could have an "unusual" coin in their change.
There are two type of Foy Bags, a Melbourne Foy Bag (*Type 1) and Perth Foy Bag (*Type 2) which represented the Perth branch of the retail giant. The Melbourne Foy Bag was issued at all their Victorian stores, Melbourne, Collingwood, Prahran and Adelaide. The Perth Foy Bag is much rarer than the Melbourne Foy Bag and their value is astounding.
Because of their age and their fragility not many have survived the years without damage, it's not often that you see quality examples with the envelope flap intact and I have never seen one without a centre fold. Values for the bag alone are eye opening and see a Melbourne Foy Bag realise a few hundred dollars to a Perth variety realising at least double that. Quite often they are sold with the Centenary Florin they were found with, depending on the condition the pair could easily realise $1,000+.
*Type I and II as described in The pocket guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes 18th edition by Greg McDonald
Posted by harrisk at June 10, 2011 5:33 PM
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