MJCOIN

A great looking half sovereign proof. Fully boxed, COA and cheaper than a bullion half!

2016 proof sovereign thanks to @Chrisplym a very nice example.

After being shafted by TRM again on release day for the James 1 coin I gave  up on these but by chance I checked the other day and they were back in stock so I nabbed one…. Even though I expected it to be a crappy return, it looks perfect to me so for a change I am actually happy with my experience with TRM 🥹

Clive of India shipwreck coin is back, got unc details as high as one could expect for a coin that has spent 250 years on the bottom of the ocean 
CLIVE OF INDIA TREASURE
SALVAGED FROM THE 1755 WRECK OF THE EAST INDIAMAN DODDINGTON OFF SOUTH AFRICA
CERTIFIED BY NGC UNCIRCULATED DETAILS / SALVAGE SALT WATER MATTE APPEARANCE
OBV: "LAUREATE" PORTRAIT OF KING JOHN V OF PORTUGAL RIGHT; DATE BELOW.
REV: CROWNED ARMS OF PORTUGAL WITHIN CARTOUCHE WITH SCROLLS.
KM # 149
CONTAINS 14.34 GRAMS OF .917 FINE GOLD (.4228 OZ AGW)
32 MM IN DIAMETER
MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT CLIVE, 1st BARON CLIVE (1725-1774) "CLIVE OF INDIA", WAS A BRITISH OFFICER CREDITED WITH ESTABLISHING THE SUPREMACY OF GREAT BRITIAIN, BOTH MILITARY AND POLITICAL, OVER BENGAL. THROUGH HIS EFFORTS, CLIVE CONFIRMED BRITISH HEGEMONY OVER INDIA, THUS SECURING THE POWER AND WEALTH OF THE SUBCONTINENT FOR THE BRITISH CROWN.
AFTER HIS SUCCESFUL AND NUMEROUS MILITARY, DIPLOMATIC AND ECONOMIC VENTURES ON BEHALF OF THE CROWN IN INDIA, CLIVE RETURNED TO LONDON. IN 1774 HE WAS OFFERED THE COMMAND OF ALL BRITISH FORCES IN NORTH AMERICA, BUT DECLINED THE OFFER. THAT SAME YEAR, HE COMMITTED SUICIDE WITH A PENKNIFE, THE SUICIDE ATTRIBUTED TO A HISTORY OF DEPRESSION AND OPIUM ADDICTION.
19 YEARS BEFORE, IN 1755, THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY SHIP, THE DODDINGTON, AFTER PASSING THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, STRUCK A ROCK AT ALGOA BAY, NEAR BIRD ISLAND, SOUTH AFRICA. THE INDIAMAN (EAST INDIA COMPANY MERCHANT SHIP) WAS CARRYING PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILLIAN GOLD AND SILVER COINS BELONGING TO LORD CLIVE (CLIVE WAS SAILING ON ANOTHER SHIP THAT HAD GOTTEN SEPARATED FROM THE DODDINGTON, ALONG WITH THREE OTHER SHIPS, AFTER DEPARTING THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS).
THE GOLD CONSIGNMENT CALLED "CLIVE OF INDIA'S GOLD", WAS LOOTED BY TREASURE HUNTERS FROM NEARBY PORT ELIZABETH IN MODERN TIMES.
THE SALVAGED COINS WERE AT THE CRUX OF A HIGH PROFILE AND SENSATIONALIZED LAWSUIT BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE SALVAGERS, AND SOUTH AFRICAN AND INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW WERE BOTH FOUND TO BE SEVERELY INADEQUATE IN DEALING WITH SUCH MATTERS.
AFTER THE FOUR YEAR LEGAL BATTLE ROYAL, OUT THE 1,200 OF "CLIVE OF INDIA'S" COINS THAT WERE RECOVERED, A THIRD WERE RETURNED TO SOUTH AFRICA.
THIS 1752 BRAZIL 6,400 GOLD REIS, MINTED DURING THE REIGN OF JOAO (JOHN) V (1706-1750), WAS PART OF THIS LEGENDARY AND CONTESTED TREASURE.
THIS COIN HAS A REMARKABLE HISTORY, IT SUFFERED MINOR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE (SALT WATER) DURING ITS SUBMERGED TIME IN OCEAN WATER FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. , BUT IS NON-DETRACTING AND HAS LEFT THE COIN WITH AN AMAZING SUPERB MATTE FINISH.
 

A nice uncirculated 1901 Sixpence 
 

Foster88 you inspired me to get one! It's a little bit beaten up but not too bad for something made in 1919. Really happy with it👍

Well, whilst we're on the subject of sovereigns, I'm trying desperately not to suffer from 'size envy' thanks to @CoinBug's post 😵.
I thought I'd share my 1/4 Sovereign received today courtesy of @DarthGareth.
This represents a landmark moment for me.  Alongside its bigger siblings, this little beauty makes up my first full ounce of gold.

 
I appreciate this is possibly the smallest stack on here, but I'm pretty proud of myself - and it's been a while since I had cause for that. J
Just a little over 6 weeks ago, I was still toiling with the notion that owning physical gold wasn't for folk like me. And here I am with an ounce of the stuff and two more sovereigns on the way (May & June's monthly commitment to my annual ambitions).

 
Cheers!
 
FNF.

Two more Sixpence’s added to the collection today, bought at the recent Coinery auction.
The 1853 Proof Sixpence is delightful and I feel so lucky to have acquired a coin that’s as rare as Hen’s teeth.

Thanks to @kneehow2018 and @MJCOIN

...a damn good looking coin, considering it's 261 years old.
I don't think I will see another one in this condition for a long time, if ever again....this is a keeper.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces17041.html
Thanks @DuncanWylieWilson

A few more from Tavex. Nice presentation and the 2022s were cheaper than any best value I could see at time of ordering.. if they fix the payment system it'll be tip top
 

A bigger news story would be "Genuine Coin For Sale on Ebay"
But most experienced TSF memners would think that was fake news!
The fact it's on Ebay!
Probably, but it requires some effort, so best is simply to ignore ebay unless you really know wht you are doing, and accept that you might still get ripped off anyway, or at the very best waste a lot of time trying to get a refund.
😎

Before I start, sorry I cannot attach photos as I've already scurried the gold away somewhere safe, never to be seen again. Actually that's a lie, but I can't be bothered to upload a photo of what everyone has seen before anyway.
I just wanted to say that last week I added another ten 2022 full sovereigns to my stack but I had never owned a double sovereign.
So at the weekend I purchased a double 2022 sovereign which arrived moments ago. 
All I can say is it was love at first sight. It amazes me how much bigger and heavier a double sovereign is when compared to a normal full size sovereign.
From now on I may think twice about going for piddly little sovereigns as I think I've fallen in love with the double.

23 Million Gold Sovereigns Melted Down 1990 National Audit Office Report on the Royal Mint
Today I stumbled across an NAO report online, which included:
(g) The Exchange Equalisation Account has met the capital servicing costs of the Precious Metal Unit, installed in 1986; and the Mint have melted down some of their 23 million gold Sovereigns in stock, paid for by the Account, to use as raw material for the new Britannia coin. However, the Unit has so far been engaged only on commercial work and the contractual arrangements with the Treasury were terminated in 1987-88. The Treasury pointed out that the decision to impose Value Added Tax on gold coins and the fall in the gold price in the early 1980s had both affected the demand for sovereigns to an extent which could not have been foreseen at the time the new Unit was commissioned.
I was completely unaware of this at the time, and indeed until now.
I am only up to page 6 of the 22 page report, so I expect to find some more intriguing stuff soon.
For anyone interested:
https://www.nao.org.uk/pubsarchive/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2018/11/The-Royal-Mint.pdf
Enjoy!
😎
 

Very pleased with these latest grades from NGC.  A few more ticked off the list.
The 5SOV in particular is a thing of beauty.  A chunky amount of gold and the detail on the Queen's head is simply stunning.
 
 

I did ask Perth Mint some years ago how much they would sell their one tonne gold coin for, as I thought I knew of a potential customer.
It's not the first time I tried to get my hands on it:

They said that it was not currently for sale.
I suspect that if someone approached them with a serious offer to pay a sufficient premium, that they might be tempted.
I also asked if they could make a one tonne silver coin for us.
It would fit quite easily in our strongrooms, but we might need a bigger capacity lift, and I don't fancy trying to manhandle it down the stairs to our bunker.
😎

I'll accept the risk, so I've been picking up "raw" ungraded bargains on Ebay for the past 11 years. I've had two relatively poor proof sovs out of many.
One was a 2005 which was rather "milky" (many seem to suffer for some reason) so I'd sent it back and received a refund then bought another perfect example. In retrospect, that coin would've easily cleaned up nicely with NCS conservation but I wasn't aware of that service at the time. The other was heavily handled 1999.
A recent 1979 proof purchase a few months back had quite a few copper spots & a ton of dust but had potential. Mailed it to Numi for NCS conservation and it achieved PF70 from NGC. It looks fresh out of the Royal Mint. Imagine what was going on back in '79 economically - winter of discontent and mountains of uncollected rubbish but the mint still churned out 50,000. Who bought them in those wretched times? Gold did go on to peak in 1980 though.

I had most of those in my "watch list" and was surprised when I checked just now at the prices achieved.
Whilst I have bought coins from Ebay (and never had a problem with them) I tend to steer clear where possible.  Too many sharks and horror stories put me off.  Also most of the photos for Ebay listings are terrible and it's hard to determine the quality before I buy.  For my own personal reasons I am buying proof sovereigns for grading and have had (mostly) great success by buying from trusted dealers at reasonable prices.  Trouble is, those 1990 era sovereigns don't come up for sale very often and when they do they are £600+ and that's ungraded.
Even so, I agree those prices achieved are bonkers.

I had most of those in my "watch list" and was surprised when I checked just now at the prices achieved.
Whilst I have bought coins from Ebay (and never had a problem with them) I tend to steer clear where possible.  Too many sharks and horror stories put me off.  Also most of the photos for Ebay listings are terrible and it's hard to determine the quality before I buy.  For my own personal reasons I am buying proof sovereigns for grading and have had (mostly) great success by buying from trusted dealers at reasonable prices.  Trouble is, those 1990 era sovereigns don't come up for sale very often and when they do they are £600+ and that's ungraded.
Even so, I agree those prices achieved are bonkers.

Price madness continues with Lockdales latest auction as of today 21st May. Realised prices including auction fees @ 27.54%:
1980 proof sovereign  £459
1995 proof sovereign  £765    (!!!??? just crazy)
1996 proof sovereign  £663   (huh??!!)
1997 proof sovereign   £714   (also nutty)
1998 proof sovereign  £510
1999 proof sovereign  £612   (say what!!??)
 
Live auction prices are so out of touch with peer-to-peer or Ebay realised prices. Clearly someone's willing to pay these exaggerated amounts but confused as to why. Case in point, I998 proofs have been selling recently on Ebay for £400 - £450. I should know, I bought one and quality was perfectly fine. I personally own the 1980, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998 & 1999 proofs and have never valued them anywhere near those quotes.
Bear in mind, most of these big auction houses also charge £25 - £40 for P&P on top. Sometimes you get lucky (very rare) when they charge just £8 R.M. SD. That 1995 proof will probably cost someone £800 in total.

The horse’s stomach just seems to melt into the field with no definition.  The horse has been emasculated to an extent!
There are raised areas on the bottom of the neck line to the left of the BM.  Looks odd 
Field to the left of the beard is a bit scratchy
best
Dicker

It'll be a contender to compete with supposed 'coin of the year ' I'm sure after the crystal maze ' diversity ' coin (allegedly) won.
Box ticked, box ticked 
Another nail in RM coffin and brand value and recognition
But but ' reasons '
Go woke, go broke it's as simple as that 

Available at a few percent above melt soon enough woke woke woke, stunning and brave, stunning and brave

Well that should appeal to 1.5% of the population.... Can't wait to see the designs for one-legged Wellington boot testers or short shelf-stackers..
A truly remarkable time to be alive and a welcome addition to the world of numismatics.

Fantastic results particularly on the £1’s.
Best
Dicker