1894 victorian miners right

[Ozjono]

hello I have a 1894 miners right that I got from my motherinlaw I want to know if it is legit and if it is worth any thing dollar wise any help would be good thank. I don't want to sell it. im hoping its real and don't care if it got a $ value

the ink has turned blue on most of it due to water damage

 

[Mackka]

I'll buy it for a fiver.

 

[loamer]

a water damaged one went for about $100, it was from Bendigo as well. that looks legit to me. a great piece. why are they mostly water damaged - because even to day, they had to be carried while working on the gold. No plastic bags in them days. fascinating it was from Bendigo - most alluvial 'mining' had finished and switched over to quartz but there were still a blokes pottering about, if memory serves me correctly, there was a depression on at the time.

 

[Ozjono]

Just did a quick search on the net looks like they could purchase a 1pound one or the 5 shilling one, Im guessing the difference was the area they could dig or maybe the time the right lasted, I'm just guessing. Can't seem to find a good souce for info on these

 

[Piston_Broke]

Wonder what 5 shillings would be inflation adjusted to today ?

 

[loamer]

Miners' Rights were introduced under the 1855 Goldfields Act, replacing the Gold Licence that provoked the Eureka uprising in 1854. The Act made a Miner's Right the necessary evidence for the occupation of a mining claim, and from 1857 also gave the holder the right to select a quarter acre of crown land on the goldfields for a residence - a vitally important aspect in the development of Victoria's gold-mining towns. By the end of 1855, 50,000 Miner's Rights had been issued. A fourth Goldfields Act in 1858, gave increased privileges to holders of Miner's Rights including the right to operate a business on crown land (such as a shop or hotel), the right to fell timber on claims and the right to build races and dams on crown lands for mining purposes. Under the Mining Statute of 1865 women not directly engaged in goldmining were permitted to take out a Miner's Right in order to build a residence or business premises on crown lands in the goldfields.

Next time you are in Maldon, Dunolly, Tarangulla etc, have a very close look at the old houses and you will see the frontages pretty well conform to what their Miner's rights allowed.

here is one from Ballarat 1894 -

, 5 shillings.

 

[KarlS]

I'm sorry that I lost my 1970 Miners Right from Lightining Ridge during moving . I got it at Police station and it cost me one dollar.
Karl

 

[Ozjono]

Thanks for the info. What would be the best way to preserve and display this. It has spent a long time between pages in a old book.

 

[loamer]

Anything like this only ever use 'archival quality' plastic sleeves, try avery brand and the like. Do some further research at the Australian national archives page at: http://www.naa.gov.au/ for checking on storage etc. Great site. Follow their advice and you should be right. You could get it framed as well, but by a proper framer, and explain what you want. Not an el cheapo $2 frame from the Reject Shop etc - the edging and backing also needs to be a special quality and make. Should look good. I got some old ST Gill goldfield prints copied and had them framed and put the Miners Right with them with some relics. Nice display.

 

[Goldtarget]

If I may make a suggestion. ... Get a ton ofdecent photocopies back and front and whack them up in ebay or the like for $5 plus postage. You'll make more than its worth and get to keep it. I did this a few years ago with some old motor themed memorabilia (early Chevrolet truck manuals and ads t model etc) and pocketed a couple Gs and got to keep them. It might surprise you just how popular this old stuff copied sells, (I did adverts from old woman's days like soap ads etc sold in bulk to people who sell them in weekend markets) just make sure you're clear is not original reflect it in your price. I'll pick up the first one if you give it a go.

 

[Teemore]

Sorry only just found this after seeing what I believe is a "suspect" Miner's Right .... the attached correspondence helps explain it.........
Gday Tom,
The miners right below is right. I would have thought it was worth about $50, but I could be out of touch with changes in the market.

Coincidentally, while I was looking for my original contact from Mike about the fake miners rights, I came across where I had sent you the quote (it was in my share certificate file, so I dont really know how your email got in there, but useful that it did I dont keep most emails for more than 12 months, but I have an archive history on my share certificate sales. The key to the fake miners rights is apparently in hand numbering:

Good pickup on the Miners right, and Im glad it got pulled; there have been a number of these floating around on eBay from time to time and despite me contacting eBay to point out they were duds, no action was ever taken and the sellers who I contacted werent fazed by the fact that I said they werent real. Interestingly, there is a big group of blanks in Leskis Mining auction and it was from these that the lookalikes were created i.e. there are flaws in the printing that you can easily spot and theyre all from the S series but with hand written numbering, the real ones have stamped or printed numbering..

Cheers, Kevin

Those with the from the "S" with hand numbering are 99.9% fake, the paper is legit but the handwritten entries may have been done "yesterday" ..... sorry to say.
The legit ones will always have stamped numbering.
Sorry to spoil the party ....

ps .... had another look at this, the "O" series one looks legit. The "S" series, if as stated they get water damaged by being carried out in the field then they most likely would have been folded in half at a minimum ... as such the water stains should reflect this (do they ??), similarly the wrinkled look ... looks too 'recent' ... if it was wrinkled when in use then by now those wrinkles would be visible but the paper would be flat.

 

[Ozjono]

Lol sold this for 300 back in may to a collector he looked at it for about half hour and offered me 250 so i just thought it was worth more and said 300 and its yours, my bad if what you say is right. I paid 40 for it. I got about 20 double sided copys of it im happy

 

[Teemore]

Lol sold this for 300 back in may .... my bad if what you say is right.

Ozjono ..... sold in good faith so never a problem ...... different story if you Know it's not legit.
Bloke I know bought 2 from a copper in Qld ..... sold and bought in good faith BUT since telling him about the "fakes" he's now trying to offload them, not cool.

Cheers T

by the way the form itself is original, it's just that they were never issued/sold. The filled in versions started appearing after someone bought the book of "blanks".