Strong WA Flavour in *The Great Mint Swindle*

The Channel 9 telemovie The Great Mint Swindle brings a Western Australian gold scandal and the Mickelberg brothers’ fight to clear their names to the screen. A 2012 PerthNow report describes the film as a fast-paced dramatisation told through Peter Mickelberg’s perspective—not a strict biopic—and recounts the case behind it.

The Perth Mint Swindle, as PerthNow reported it

In a report published on 10 February 2012, journalist Maria Noakes described the 1982 swindle as involving false cheques presented to the Perth Mint in exchange for 49 gold bars. The report put the bars’ combined weight at more than 65 kilograms and their value at $653,000 at the time. That is a historical figure reported in 2012, not a current valuation.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		The Great Mint Swindle [Region 4]	$27.98	Buy on Amazon
2		The Great Mint Swindle ( Sundowner ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]	$27.98	Buy on Amazon
3		Great Gigolo Swindle	$1.53	Buy on Amazon

The brothers’ convictions and appeals

PerthNow reported that Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg were convicted of conspiracy in 1983. It gave their sentences, respectively, as 20 years for Ray, 16 years for Peter and 12 years for Brian. The report says Ray and Peter’s convictions were quashed in 2004 after a long series of appeals. It does not establish what happened to Brian’s conviction or the case’s present legal status.

A dramatization told through Peter’s eyes

The 2012 report characterizes the 95-minute telemovie as fast-paced and told from Peter Mickelberg’s perspective, while explicitly cautioning that it is not a strict biopic. It was written by Reg Cribb, directed by Geoff Bennett and produced by Russell Vines. The production was filmed on location in Perth.

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The Great Mint Swindle [Region 4]

• The Great Mint Swindle ( Sundowner )
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Principal cast listed in the report

• Grant Bowler as Ray Mickelberg
• Todd Lasance as Peter Mickelberg
• Josh Quong Tart as Brian Mickelberg
• Shane Bourne as Don Hancock
• John Batchelor as Tony Lewandowski

Producer Russell Vines told PerthNow that Peter Mickelberg had seen the final cut and found it “hard to watch.”

What the report establishes—and what it does not

PerthNow’s preview gives a snapshot of the case and the telemovie as they were presented in 2012. Its account is a single newspaper report, not a court-record verification; the legal details above are therefore attributed to that report. It also previewed a broadcast scheduled for the following month, but does not establish current viewing availability or whether a DVD or other physical edition exists.

Quick Recap

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The Great Mint Swindle [Region 4]

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$27.98

Bestseller No. 2

The Great Mint Swindle ( Sundowner ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

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$27.98

Bestseller No. 3

Great Gigolo Swindle

1 - Naughty - Disco Volante; 2 - Chris Korda - Save The Planet Kill Yourself; 3 - Valium - Trip To The Northpole

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Rank #3

Great Gigolo Swindle

• 1 - Naughty - Disco Volante
• 2 - Chris Korda - Save The Planet Kill Yourself
• 3 - Valium - Trip To The Northpole
• 4 - Pacou - Red
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Rank #2

The Great Mint Swindle ( Sundowner ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

• The Great Mint Swindle ( Sundowner )
• The Great Mint Swindle
• Sundowner

$27.98

Buy on Amazon

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