Summary

Established in 1932, Downies is a family owned company that has developed, over the last 75 years, into the world's largest distributer of Australian coins and collectibles.<ref>www.downies.com</ref>

Emerging from the dark days of the Great Depression, Downies has worked tirelessly for over 75 years to establish a reputation as Australia's leading coin and banknote professionals. This preeminence in the industry is the realization of the lofty ambitions of a young man with a big dream. Phil Downie, founder of the company, is the powerhouse behind the Downies legend.

As official distributors for both the Royal Australian Mint and the Perth Mint, Downies has grown worldwide and is also an official distributor for a great number of mints across the globe. With their Head Office located in Melbourne, Victoria of Australia, Downies also boasts two retail stores in Melbourne and Sydney.

The Beginning

In 1932, at barely 16 years of age, Phil Downie established the Palmerston North Stamp company. Phil watched his fledging philatelic business quickly grow to become an industry leader, expanding into all fields of collectibles.

Downies Auctions

Downies Australian Coin Auctions is Australia’s longest established coin and banknote auctioneers. Conducting their first auction in 1963, each member of the Downies auction team has extensive expertise and experience for anyone seeking to consign all or part of their collection. Purchasers and vendors gather at Downies Auctions from three to five times a year.

Their status as Australia’s foremost auction house received a ringing endorsement in 2005, when they were chosen to host the most important sale in the history of Australia’s central banking authority – the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Downies Auction of the Gold Coins of the RBA formed the highest profile sale of its kind. An astounding success, all 2,472 lots were sold, with A$4.9m in sales against estimates of A$3m. Their reputation as Australia’s most respected numismatic auction house has also seen Downies appointed by the RBA to be the sole distributor of the Bank’s numismatic polymer notes

Mail Order Division

Downies provides a full mail order service through their variety of general and specialist publications. Each month, they assemble a wide array of products, with stocks of all the latest releases.

Clients are able to place orders by phone, fax, email or mail, with all items subject to Downies Bonus Points Rewards Program. This popular client loyalty program offers clients the ability to build points and earn rewards throughout the year.

Bonus Points Program

Based on the concept of a loyalty reward program, Downies established The Bonus Points Program has one aim – to reward clients for their loyalty. The Bonus Points Program allows Downies the opportunity to offer a valuable thank you to all of their regular clients.

The program is styled along the lines of the frequent flyer programs of the airlines. Clients are awarded points, in the ratio of ten points to each dollar spent on each product purchased through a subscription program or one of our many great offers.

Bonus Points are automatically accumulated against completed purchases and stored on the customer's account record. Towards the end of each year customers that have accumulated at least 2,000 points receive special Bonus Points Rewards offers detailing the available rewards and their designated bonus points level.

The customer can choose to claim a reward from the catalogue by redeeming some of their points. There may also be additional chances to redeem points through the year.

If the customer chooses not to use their points they will not be canceled immediately; the bonus points total can be carried forward to the next year. However, the points accrued do have a ‘use-by date’. Points will expire if the customers account remains inactive for three years.

Retail Outlets

Downies opened Town Hall Coins in Sydney’s Town Hall Square in 1991. Conveniently located, the shop is a favorite with both regular clientèle and passers-by.

In 1994, Downies opened its retail shop in Melbourne’s historic Block Arcade. The store caters for regular customers and also for the many tourists looking for a special and lasting memento of their visit to Australia. Shoppers will find that both outlets carry the full range of items and personal service is reinforced with expert advice and ethics.

Downies ‘personal touch’ also extends to our consistent attendances at major Australian Coin & Banknote Shows held regularly throughout the year. As a supporter of the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association Inc (ANDA) and its public events, Downies plays a strong role in bringing the very best collectibles to the widest possible audience.

Specialist Fields

The Downies team includes rare coin and banknote specialists.These specialists provide advice on specialized portfolios and superannuation parcels. In many instances, they may also help customers to track down elusive pieces for their collection.

In this field of expertise and service, Downies remains unrivaled in the industry.

Wholesale

As a leader in the retail sector, Downies also offer a range of opportunities for corporate and wholesale clients through Sherwood (Downies’ manufacturing arm[2]). Creating some of Australia’s most popular collector issues, Downies has many high-quality releases from the Sherwood stable.

Whether interested in an existing product, or have something specific in mind, Downies have the capacity to deal with a great variety of corporate and wholesale needs.

Downies Online

As Australia’s premier coin and banknote dealer, Downies have established a complete numismatic service via the Internet. Their website providing all the latest issues from the Royal Australian Mint and Perth Mint via downies.com http://www.downies.com, their Internet expansion also encompasses Australia’s leading Internet numismatic auction house – ebid.com (or usebid.com [1094] in the US). Both services are underpinned by Downies secure online ordering facilities.