richatthecroft

Very nice. Its a lovely coin, but a suggestion: I've been discussing this release with @Roy and @SilverMike and we can't help but think the Royal Mint missed a trick here, in terms of them engraving the Mary Gillick Portrait on the Reverse. Its the perfect tie in- Her Majesty's Coronation Beasts and her first Portrait- full circle. @Roy points out that the Royal Mint likely have this in hand- and the coin reissued next year for the Jubilee- resplendent with the Gillick bust! Anyone adept with Photoshop who might be able to produce a mock up of what it might look like?

Thanks Karl, it seems like a reasonable and likely theory. Like you say however, you would expect the phenomenon to exist more widely. I wish that this was not pointed out- my eyes will now always gravitate to seeking out this flaw on every Sovereign I look at!

Good observation. I cannot go back to this/these 1988 Sovereigns as I don't own them anymore to take a decent photo- I do have a 1987 2 Sovereign that I can have a further look at- all my remaining 2 Sovereigns are either Special designs or are much older examples, so not like for like. Perhaps @Jaconet or @1817Karl would care to comment as I do know they are 2 Sovereign enthusiasts and will have a lot more experience of them than I.

Agree with @Allgoldcoins. Looks to me like the phenomenon you have pointed out is a flaw in the manufacturing process rather than it being a fake. The remainder of the 2 Sovereign looks absolutely fine in my eyes. Here's a couple of photos, one of them a close up of that very area. These photos just happened to be in my photo library, and are of a 1988 Proof 2 Sovereign.