First Fleet medal sold in Australia for $US732,000
Updated
A medal engraved by a convict on one of the ships of the First Fleet has been sold for $A750,000 ($US732,000) in the southern Australian city of Melbourne.
The First Fleet is the name given to 11 ships which sailed from Britain in 1787 to establish a colony in Australia's eastern state of New South Wales.
The National Maritime Museum bought the Charlotte medal, regarded as the first Australian Colonial work of art.
It was part of a collection of rare Australian historic medals owned by retired Melbourne dentist, John Chapman, who bought the silver medal in 1981 for $A15,000 ($US14, 600).
The museum's Michael Creyford says the silver medal will go on display in Sydney later this year.
"We're delighted on the basis that we'll be able to show it to the broader public too," he said.
