Shep

No sorry, again should have clarified. My digital scales show 8.0g exactly for each Sov.

Yes I think the balance threw me off to be honest. It’s seen better days and even then it’s not exactly a fool proof method is it. Probably quite unwise to let it cloud my judgment completely. As proved here though always good to consult the forum for a sanity check. Thanks all for the replies.

Scales are 0.1 graduated but I should have stated they both read 8.0g. To my embarrassment I suppose it would have helped if I’d actually realised it was a Sydney mint sovereign. Thanks for pointing that out and appreciate the reply.

Both too thick and too wide. One on top of the other I can’t notice a difference. Weight wise it’s fine on the balance, it’s just the angle of the picture.

Thanks I should have mentioned, yes they do both pass the “ping” test to my ear. Also to mention that the strike is not misaligned.

Today I had the pleasure of that dreaded moment where you discover you’ve been potentially harbouring a stow away in your stack. Mine is an not overly fake looking (to me) 1896 Sov. The suspected fake is on the right. On the left is an 1896 that I know to be genuine. My rudimentary authentication methods: It will not fit in the balance which ever way i try to fit it in there. Both coins read exactly 8g on my not so expensive or accurate scales. In the face of my not so thorough testing methods, my question to the forum is that is there anything about my suspect Sov that jumps out to identify it as a fraud? So is it a fake or am I putting too much faith in my sovereign balance? Shep

I don’t really feel that justifies a negative. A negative feedback on here = destruction of the persons ability to sell anything on the forum in the future. Not really a fair punishment for tardy communication, and as previously alluded to, whilst it’s annoying for the buyer people have lives and they might have something going on. Although it sounds you’ve had a pretty poor experience so far, if it does indeed arrive well packaged and as described surely it’s a neutral at worst? Each to their own though.

Bullion By Post. I don’t think they increase prices as such. Their prices do not appear to fall as quickly as they rise during large swings in the spot price. This means the relative premiums they are charging above spot seem to increase on large dips in the spot price.

They (bullion) will hold a small premium but don’t go getting scalped panic buying. Same with the any of the 2022 proof coins, prices are exploding due to scalpers and the human condition of the fear of missing out. Whilst probably a good buy for the future, wait a couple of weeks / months and the price will likely correct downwards again once the hype has dispersed. The Queen has been on every single U.K. coin / note etc for the last 70 years and everyone is going about like anything with her effigy or cypher on is getting melted down next week.

A quick review of the Royal Mint VIP tour that I attended 07/09/22. Scores on the doors - 3/5 Consisted of (in order) - Refreshments and biscuits upon arrival. - A 30 min brisk presentation of the Royal Mints history. - A visit to the design team and a presentation from one of the designers. - Walkthrough / talk through of the die production rooms and processes. - Demonstration of die polishing. - Strike your own Sovereign in the PM production area (if purchased (£625)). - A very decent buffet lunch. - Visit to the circulating coin production factory + strike your own 50p (included). - End of the guided tour and option to view the regular Royal Mint experience exhibits. - Coffee and a slice of cake before you depart. Pros A truly great experience to meet the design team who were all incredibly humble. Good lunch Opportunity to strike your own Proof Silver Britannia or 2022 Proof Sovereign (at the time of writing). Friendly tour guide. Cons A extremely light touch 30 mins talk by a representative of the Royal Mint museum and no opportunity to go into their area and see any numismatic rarity’s not on show to the regular punters - really disappointed with this Now seeing as the Royal Mint claims the sovereign is their flagship coin, it was again disappointing that on the tour you do not see any precious metal coins being minted other than the one you may or may not elect to buy. I had visions that I would be seeing streams of bullion sovereigns flying out of machines into tubs. I did not see a single gold, silver or platinum coin of any kind being minted (other than my own). I’ve never really considered myself a hard core collector but The VIP tour felt like it was aimed and pitched at a level for people who like to collect cupronickel 50ps in their change. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it just left me wanting. Summary The tour proved to be acceptable value for money. It seems in the past a visit to the Royal Mint Museum was included in the VIP tour, this is an absolute must have and really ought to reintroduced. Not seeing a single precious metal coin being produced was pretty laughable. I walked away happy as I have two 2022 proof sovereigns to add to my stack, had I not had these I feel I would have been severely disappointed.

Honestly, first time was a charm. I can only assume something horrible must happen between striking them and putting them in their capsules during normal production.

Visited the Royal Mint today for the VIP tour. Picked up two 2022 strike your own proof sovereigns. Well worth the tour just to be able to pick up the coins at near issue price…. and the fact I was able to do my own QC on them!

1885 Newfoundland $2 and 1966 Rhodesia 10S coins arrived back from grading today.

Could do with some better pictures. Some of the obverse also perhaps? Nothing immediately jumps out at me that is screaming fake. The dark spot on the horses neck looks to be just some of the frosting missing, which isn’t unheard of or particularly suspicious for the Royal Mint. Other positives are that the COA, capsule and box (from what i can see) all look Royal Mint genuine issue for the given year. The coin is as you say clearly tarnished, but this can probably be resolved should you wish. If it was sold as a “10/10 proof” and you’re not happy with its condition you probably ought to think about sending it back, unless you can’t find one for a similar price from another source. Welcome to the forum.

Time to get reporting, it’s already somehow at £185 with only an hour to go 🤯

Lots of good advice above. My two pence: Ditch silver it’s a false economy. Forget “rare” modern 1oz silver coins unless you like watching them milk spot and lose the horrendous premium you may have paid on them. Buy the lowest premium CGT free gold you can find from reputable sources. 22ct/24ct is irrelevant if you’re purely stacking to fund your retirement.

Received a 2022 Gold 1/4 Oz Britannia and a bonus Silver Britannia from Bullion By Post using their referral scheme. I’m usually exclusively a sovereign guy but I think my heads being turned.

See below for a perfect demonstration of the Royal Mint hype bubble beginning to burst.

Used to be big hype about Chinese Pandas a few years ago, which now seems to have died away. I don’t really see what all the fuss was about personally, they look pretty ugly to me.

The Coin Cabinet take PCGS submissions. They don’t seem to advertise it particularly well but I’ve had coins graded with PCGS through them.

https://cambridgeshirecoins.com/products/2020-gold-usa-50-fifty-dollar-liberty-double-eagle These 1oz gold eagles are now under spot at £1495 if there are any big spenders kicking about. Also 1oz Kangaroos and Maples available for the same price.

I recommend this book, it may save you some time in creating your list: https://www.tokenpublishing.com/shop/product/8058 This following book is good for a basic history of the Sovereign, if you’re so inclined and can find it in stock anywhere: https://www.royalmint.com/our-coins/ranges/historic-coins/historic-books/a-history-of-the-sovereign-chief-coin-of-the-world-book/

Horses for courses. If I’m buying modern proofs or SOTD sovs on the secondary market I’m only buying graded (70) ones. Couldn’t really care about the OMP if I’m honest as it’s not particularly deposit box friendly. I’m shallow as a puddle though and clearly a slave to the grading system. If you’re looking at it from a resale angle for modern proof and SOTD sovs, I think generally speaking that getting 70 grades usually help resale value, 69 usually sells for around the same as what the raw coin would, and anything less is probably not going to be very helpful to the value of your coin. Bit of a gamble really. If you’re asking from purely a collecting point of view then I would argue it just comes down to your personal preference.

It’s an excellent idea….if your aim was to ruin your coin.

2022 Double Sovereign PF70 UC to add to the special reverse collection. Heres hoping there won’t be another for a while!