A Mt Isa resident who has spent years searching for a coveted collectable coin had his prayers answered last month, when John Platts from Stamps and Coins tracked down the Australian “holey dollar” for him.
Mr Platts travels Queensland with his business, buying and selling collectable stamps and coins from people all over the state.
He said the Mt Isa sale was a particularly exciting one.
“We sold a coin in Mt Isa a couple of weeks ago that a gentleman there had been looking for for years and we finally found it for him,” Mr Platts said.
“It cost him $98,000, it was one of Australia’s first coins, a holey dollar.”
Mr Platts said when the coin finally became available on the market, he quickly purchased it to sell to the customer.
Set up in Charters Towers last week, Mr Platts said his travelling business, which is based from Mackay, began 35 years ago when he left high school.
“I left school and didn’t want to work for anyone, I had a hobby and I turned it into a business,” he said.
Now travelling the State with regular fairs in small towns, Mr Platts said the hobby was particularly big in North Queensland.
“It’s huge - I’ve been doing it for 35 years and it is getting busier and busier,” he said.
“Everyone has collected a stamp or a coin at some point in their life.
“I go to Atherton, Port Douglas, Cairns, Ingham, Innisvail, as far west as Mt Isa, Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach and out to Hughenden,” he said.
He said while tourists certainly play a part in the business, it was the local hobbyists in each town which kept him afloat.
Kelly Butterworth
Rockhampton-based journalist covering all things ag.
Rockhampton-based journalist covering all things ag.
