Earlier in the week, we mentioned that there was an unusual coin auction taking place. This was the auction of coins which rather than being antique and carefully preserved were brand new, yet already allowed to drop awkwardly to the ground.

These were the coins tossed for the Australian Open final, played through to five sets by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and to just two between Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova.

The coins for these finals were put up on eBay sometime before the matches and bidding closed soon after them.

We expected the men's coin to prove more valuable than the women's, and so it proved. The women's coin, featuring the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (named after the Sydney player who won five Australian titles) sold for AU$837.

Australian Open tennis 2012 mens final toss coin

The men's coin was being offered in the centenary year of the men's singles competition in America and it sold for a considerably more impressive AU $3,051. Perhaps the excitement of the marathon match between Nadal and Djokovic helped too.

Both pieces were from a special range of aluminium/bronze collectible coins issued by the Royal Australian Mint, in conjunction with Tennis Australia. AU$3,051 is quite impressive, but not in the same league as the coin tossed before the 2011 Cricket World Cup final which broke the six-figure mark.

Tennis memorabilia collectors may wish to know that we have a signed photo of Andy Murray available. We've already sold a tennis ball signed by Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, so it may not be around for long.