papi1980

Delighted to add this 1/10th to my collection, bit of a premium round but worth every penny, thanks to @Panda6Pack for my first Korean in collection.

First Double sovereign… 2022 thanks to @SovereignBishop…really impressed! Thanks mate! 

First Double sovereign… 2022 thanks to @SovereignBishop…really impressed! Thanks mate! 

First Double sovereign… 2022 thanks to @SovereignBishop…really impressed! Thanks mate! 

Just got my 1st ever double sovereign 2022 which gives me 1/4 1/2 full and double 2022 sovereigns and am delighted, got from @Chardswhich even with their added postage was about £6 or £7 cheaper than anywhere else I could find, won't lie was a bit dissapointed it didn't come encapsulated but hey ho, price the most important thing in the end and it is a beautiful design standing out more in this size coin

Five effigies - mix of bullion and proof 

The best of British. A 1775 Guinea 

Superb Looking 1698 William III Gold Guinea + Photographs
I saw these photos recently, although I have yet to see the actual coin:

Note the fleck marks which are often a feature of gold and silver coins of that period.

For some reason, when I saw the photos, I thought it was a Five Guineas, which would have been even more exciting, but this is still a great coin.
Who else takes numismatic photographs that look so good?
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My buy the dip coins. 2 x double sovs. Managed to get these at £694 each before it went back up. 
 
any one got capsules for these ?

Todays arrival
 

No, the above was a list of forecast popular activities.
We will stick with our established coins and bullion business.
Mind you, we do have some ideas for eventual expansion and diversification:
Coins
Holidays
Alcohol
Relaxation
Driving
Sex
Of course, we have a ready acronym for this:
C.H.A.R.D.S.
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An Intriguing 1912-L London Mint Gold Sovereign
Anybody care to venture any opinions on this:

Obverse above, reverse below:

Try to avoid cheating by looking at the image filenames!
 

and so...

111
@refero wins!
(Did you count yours?)
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Spotted this one online and couldn't stop myself buying it! 1858 gothic florin. Pics weren't doing it justice but I've thrown a couple of blurry ones in so you know what's in the videos!


IMG-2109.mov
IMG-2111.MOV  
 
 
 

Something a bit different to my usual today

1919 London Mint Gold Sovereign Enquiry from Germany
A well-known Blackpool dealer received this enquiry recently:
Dear Chards employee,
I spoke to one of your employees, Robin, just a few minutes ago. She was very kind, listened to my situation and gave me this email address.
I have a 1919 sovereign, which appears not to have a mint mark. If my (very basic) research is correct, a missing mint mark would imply the London mint, but on the other hand no sovereigns were minted in London in 1919.
This would mean that the coin I have is a forgery. However, I was at a local, reputable coin and metal dealer a month ago, and the coin had the right weight, diameter and thickness, so that the dealer was comfortable enough to buy it off me as bullion for about 330 pounds. 
I am intrigued however, because I do not understand why anyone would put in the time and effort to produce such a coin for possibly no gain.
Robin suggested the possibility of the mint mark having become illegible, and so I am sending you these photographs. I would be grateful if you were to have a look. Perhaps you can determine whether there was a mark that is now illegible.
I would be very thankful for any information you might provide to me regarding this coin.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Eduardo ------

Not a great photo, but good enough to be happy about the absence of a mintmark, and not the world's worst fake.

A rather grainy look, enough to require closer examination.
Dear Eduardo, 
I have had a word with our Director who has mentioned that the coin is likely to be a fake sovereign, which might still test close enough to the actual metal weight and purity of an actual sovereign. 
We have written a blog on fakes, forgeries on sovereigns along with photos linked here https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/fakes-forgeries-and-counterfeit-gold-coins-and-sovereigns/167
Could you let us know where you got the item from? Did you sell the item locally?
Kind Regards,
Bhumika
Customer Service  
 
Dear Bhumika,
Thank you for taking a look at the sovereign. The coin has been in our family for more than 70 years. It belonged to my maternal grandfather, who was a jeweller in South America, in Ecuador. I don't know where he got it from.
I haven't sold the coin yet, but a month ago I asked a local coin dealer what he would give me for the sovereign, a 1910 St. Gaudens double eagle and a small collection of 18th century Spanish silver coins (16 of them, mostly 2 Real pieces).
I'm in Germany. The dealer's offer seemed consistent throughout: He offered me 380 euros for the sovereign, 1700 euros for the St. Gaudens 20 Dollar gold coin and 130 euros for the silver coins. I told him about the mismatch between the year and the mint mark (or lack thereof) of the sovereign, and he didn't seem to mind; he just weighed it and measured it.
I have considered trying to sell the coins online on my own in order to try to get more for them, but the sovereign presents a problem, because I don't really know how to describe it: "Selling a 7.99 g lump of 22 ct gold in the shape of a sovereign"?
What remains a mystery to me is why anyone would bother to make a forgery that has only a bullion worth equal to that of the real thing, especially since it's not a reproduction of a highly collectible coin either. It's a lot of work for no gain! 
Knowing this would be useful in order to include the information when selling, so if you know the history behind this, I'd certainly appreciate your sharing it!
Thanks again for your help!
Cheers,
Eduardo
 
The above is fairly typical of enquiries we receive most days.
Eduardo has done well to work out it's a fake coin, and sounds very ethical, so it's nice to try to help him.
It's also a compliment that someone in Germany reaches out to us here in Blackpool, England, ro help and advice.
Although I have written many times about the different reasons to counterfeit coins, and the high premium in the past for bullion sovereigns, it sounds like I need to create yet another blog / info page, to explain this, and ensure that we have a comprehensive guide (and a book).
His brief provenance notes place this coin as having been acquired in about 1950, which corresponds to the period when the Royal Mint were re-striking 1925 London Mint sovereigns, and the international premium on bullion sovereigns was likely to be between 20% and 50%, make counterfeiting highly profitable.
If we learn where he is based, I will share the information here.
Meanwhile, it is yet another interesting fake sovereign.
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Sharing today one of my most beloved sovs; everyone usually chases 1838 which is a lovely, and expensive sovereign, but not that rare even in high grade. Being the first year of Victoria, it has been kept and stored carefully since the beginning... but few did the same with the following year, which was looking like just one amongst the others (same happened for 1841); this coin is therefore very elusive in medium to high grade, and, quite surprisingly, pops more often in its proof version rather than the bullion one..

Like that a lot, can see some special dates but the others are they random different heads or a specific set released by a dealer?

Big thanks to @1stsovereign for this £5 monster 🥳 included a normal sov for comparison..incase there is another idiot like me that didn't realise how big it was going to be.

Picked up a set of these 
 

Welsh gold .99999 fine....

I'll have a look in a few days!
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Yours doesn't seem to have any!
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I do enjoy seeing nice quality pre-Victoria gold sovereigns. Whatever grade they are in, I always want them to be better.
Here is an 1829 George IV Bare Head Gold Sovereign I looked at recently:

It is noticeable there there is still much hair detail, despite the obvious circulation wear and tear. It does make modern sovereigns look rather "flat" and lacking in relief detail.

As often the reverse is not showing as much sign of wear as the obverse.
I think the central shield weakness is due to slighly weak striking rather than wear, but it is impossible to be certain.
The lower right hand shield has quite a few red spots, which possibly add to its charm, rather than detract.
It could provide signs for a number of "Red Lion" pubs.
As usual, I will invite guesses for the number of serrations.
No prizes!
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It is not quite as obvious as the previous ones.
I could always check. It must be better to have a denticle test than a testicle dent!
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Alloys  used in sovereigns has been well discussed on TSF. Copper has nearly always been used in the alloy, often with small amounts of silver to produce a 'yellow gold' appearance. The reddish colour  you see today on our sovereigns is because of the lack of silver! Don't get L.C. started on this....!! As far as I am aware, the only sovereigns using no copper whatsoever (just silver) are a few Perth mint proofs. eg 2005 which have a slight yellow-greenish hue.