A charming restaurateur, ballroom dancer, coin collector and porn aficionado. A closely-guarded trove of colonial gold coins in the William Dixson collection. A daring heist! Annabel Crabb dives into the obsessive world of numismatics and finds the history of Australian currency is full of crooks.

This episode's speakers:

• Jim Noble - Numismatist
• Julia O'Shea - ABC Researcher
• Oral History Librarian Rosie Block interviews librarian Joy Storie, 2005

What happened to the coins?

The 23 coins and dies allegedly stolen by David Gee were discovered in 1982 by a caretaker cleaning out a storeroom at an apartment block where Gee had lived.

They were returned to the Library in December 1982 under armed escort.

A detailed listing of the Sir William Dixson numismatic collection is available in the SLNSW online catalogue.

• Presenter: Annabel Crabb
• Researcher: Julia O'Shea
• Audio Engineer: Harvey O'Sullivan
• Supervising Producer: Rachael Cusick
• Executive Producers: Eric George and Carmel Rooney
• Head of Audio on Demand: Jessica Radburn

To hear the rest of the History Or Hoarding? podcast series, or for more of the best history podcasts covering Australian history, global history, including war, politics, literature and some of the most interesting people, moments and turning points in history, go to ABC listen Australia's history tab or the ABC Australia channel or wherever you get your podcasts.

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