About Us
A Family Business
Bradford Coins has been a family-owned and operated business in Cairns, Far North Queensland, since 1980, trading in coins, banknotes, gold and silver bullion, and jewellery. As a team of Father, Mother and Son, we're proud to run an environmentally conscious, solar-powered store, and to have designed the Cairns Tourist Dollar back in 1982.
Environmentally Friendly Business
On the 29th of August 2022 Bradford Coins officially became an environmentally friendly conscious business. Thanks to the great and friendly staff and team members of Replenishable Energy, who we highly recommend, who installed our commercial solar system.
Shop with confidence at Bradford Coins knowing we are doing all we can to help save the environment.
To view our live current power, energy balance, earnings and CO2 savings totals, please visit the following link: Bradford Coins 22.41kW QCell PV System.
History of Bradford Coins and Stamps, Designer of the Cairns Tourist Dollar
Hi, I'm John Bradford Snr, founder of Bradford Coins.
My interest in coins and banknotes started at twenty years of age, working as a labourer on a cane farm on a fixed income, with the birth of our first child. After sighting a pre-decimal coin and banknote collection laid out in a display case, I was impressed to the point that my enthusiasm drove me to attempt the same feat.
In 1980 I decided that I would turn my hobby into a business, not knowing till later in life that I was one of the first ten coin dealers to open a bricks and mortar business in Australia. With the help of a leading coin dealer from Adelaide, who produced the first known coin catalogue in Australia, of which I have the first two volumes.
We opened in Cairns, Far North Queensland, with a population of 20,000 at the time. It did not take long for me to realise that we would not survive long in business just by trading in coins and banknotes alone; it was at that time I decided to broaden our horizon to trading in precious metals. This decision was based on knowing that there were several gold fields within travelling distance to our shop.
In 1982, after being offered several Hawaiian Tourist Dollars over the counter, I thought it would be great as an Australian and Cairns City souvenir. We took out the copyright over the Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton Tourist Dollars; this venture spread nationwide with many cities producing their own. We received a Certificate of Registration of a Design on the 4th of March 1982 for the Cairns Tourist Dollar.
Tourist Dollar Gallery
