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Auction: 25007 - … British and World Coins and Medals featuring The Oriole Collection of Gold and Silver English Coins
Lot: 455

(x) Australia, Convict Penny Token, engraved on blank George III (1760-1820), 'Cartwheel' Penny, engraved by Michael Hogan to Ellen McHenry, deported 1830, rigged ship under sail right, cannons engraved on gun ports, in script above to Ellen McHenry the Liberty 1830, rev. When this you see Remember me until I gain my Liberty from Michael Hogan, engraved in script in five lines, 24.42g, 11h, some minor signs of contact wear, no evidence of undertype to smoothed surfaces, a charming and proficient hand engraving, very fine and of significant historical and numismatic importance

Provenance

Aventine Numismatics

Sterling & Co, New Zealand


Michael Hogan (age 17) was convicted in Middlesex Goal and sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia for theft. On 13 April 1830, he departed England aboard the transport ship Adrian and 166 others, arriving in New South Wales on 20 August.

Ellen McHenry (age 20), was similarly convicted in Middlesex on 14 January 1830 for stealing a sheet and three pairs of shoes from her landlady, Frances Head, after being asked to leave, with the stolen items found to be pawned. She was sentenced to seven years and transported separately on 27 May 1830 aboard the Mellish with 117 other women, arriving in Van Diemen's Land / Tasmania on 22 September.

She later married Isaac Swift and moved to Melbourne. Isaac had a son named John Swift, who was the father of Bertram Swift, the father of Leslie John Swift, who in turn is the father of Beverley (née Swift).

[Acknowledgements to Beverley Kardachi for providing additional information about her great-great-great-grandmother, Ellen McHenry]

By 1836, Michael Hogan was granted permission to marry fellow convict Mary Collier, a former nurse in Bathurst, New South Wales. Collier, convicted of "man robbery" in 1831 for the theft of 3 gold sovereigns, was sentenced to seven years (age 17) aboard the Pyramus with 148 others, departing on 8 October 1831 and arriving in NSW on 5 March 1832. She is described in records as a literate Protestant of fair complexion, standing 4' 9-1/4 tall.

Previously, in 1835, she was granted an application of marriage to another convict, William West, but that did not go ahead for reasons unknown.
Hogan and Collier became publicans in Sydney, establishing the Talbot Inn in 1848, which became the Crossroads Hotel, standing to this day as one of Sydney's oldest pubs. In April 2022, Crossroads became Australia's most expensively traded pub, selling for $160 million AUD.

Their daughter, Mary Anne Hogan, became a notorious figure in San Francisco's criminal underworld with the onset of the California Gold Rush. She was a known member of the Sydney Ducks, a gang composed of Australian ex-convicts, and the lover of two infamous criminals, James "Long Jim" Stuart and Samuel Whittaker. After a fire destroyed her pub, suspected to be a Ducks hideout in Sansome St, she relocated to Green and Dupont Streets, where Whittaker moved in with her, paying $20 weekly for board. While she denied receiving any gifts or stolen goods from him, she admitted to handling 21 ounces of gold and $300 on his behalf, which was later returned.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£1,200 to £1,500

Starting price
£1000