Zhorro

Two items arrived today 5x Britannia 10 oz silver bars from @SilverStan and 2x 5 oz Terracotta Army from @MrScottsdale. Almost completed stack of 10 x Britannia 10 oz silver bars. Needed another lady in my life (apart from my wife) and the contest was between Lady Pamp Suisse Fortuna and Lady Britannia. Lady Britannia has won . @MrScottsdale new forum just wanted to say his packaging / communication was excellent (same SilverStan) and I left positive feedback for both.

 

Big thanks to @Numistacker been waiting for these baby.s to come home. Happy with my grades. 

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

A couple of items have arrived from Drake Sterling in Australia (pictures used with permission).
1)      A 1916 S (Sydney) half sovereign, MS65
2)      A 2014 I (India) full sovereign, MS68

Finally got my 1/2 oz Reverse Proof Libertad in.

This is an 1871 shield back sovereign (Die No.12) salvaged from the wreck of the R.M.S. Douro.  Following a collision, the Douro sank on the 1st April 1882.
I would not normally buy a “Details” coin, but given it has been to the bottom of the sea for over a hundred years, I think a few scratches are quite acceptable – I was buying the history.  And if it was good enough for the Bentley collection...



 

An uncirculated 2019 half sovereign.

2005 proof sov and half raw for grading 
2005 proof sov PF69 
2015 proof sovereign PF70 thank you @Clens92 👍
5oz silver thank you @MrScottsdale 👍

Pre 33 American coins are sooo sexy looking 😋😋 love them 

 

Sorta PM

Just picked up a 2011 American Eagle 25th Anniversary 5 coin set at the LCS near work today.  The W proof had incredible toning on it, and was a big reason I bought this set rather then continue looking for a blast white set.  I'm not one of those collector's that goes for toned ASE's usually, but this proof is striking with a beautiful dark blue to violet toning across the mirrored fields and Lady Liberty.

IMO Definitely. The coin looks good and there are marks on the obverse that match with the picture on the NGC certification.

My gold Britannias...


I wanted representative examples of the different types of gold used:
1)      £100 Britannia, 1987, Proof – the first year of issue when 1oz of fine gold [0.9167] was alloyed with copper.
2)      £100 Britannia, 1990, Proof, PF70 Ultra Cameo – the first time 1oz of fine gold [0.9167] was alloyed with silver.
3)      £100 Britannia, 2013, experimental large and thin sized coin and for the first time it was 1oz of 0.9999 fine gold.
4)      £100 Britannia, 2018, the first time the Oriental Border was used (1oz of fine gold [0.9999]).

XRF testers are 12k, I was very disappointed but did make a contact who would run a large batch out of hours with me for a small fee. Not worth it for this sovereign though so will just send it back, kind of a shame if its 22ct as I find fakes interesting as well

Must say that I have noticed this before on the 1887 jubs and didn't know why so thanks for the knowledge.

Thank you for this information.  I’ve now had a look at what few pre-Jubilee Sydney sovereigns I have, and there does seem to be a difference between their colour and that of the London sovereigns.  I had not noticed this before, but I think the Sydney ones are slightly lighter in colour.  The following pictures try show there is a difference in colour (left, London 1871, right Sydney Young Head 1887).  The first two pictures show the coins at an angle and just about show a difference in colour.  Pictures three and four show the coins from directly above, and the Sydney one does seem to come out darker – but this is probably because it is more reflective (but you often see this shade with Australian sovereigns).
Whilst looking at these coins, I got the impression that the Sydney sovereign was slightly larger than the London one, but I thought I must be imagining it.  However, I subsequently found a post on this Forum in which members reported finding Sydney sovereigns 0.15mm larger than the standard sovereign.  See:
Precious Metals > General Precious Metals > Fractionals and Fakes (7th June 2018 and 10th February 2019)

With the advent of the 1887 Jubilee Head sovereign, the Royal Mint in London took the decision to use a more ‘yellow’ gold in order to make the intricate design stand out.  I have not seen this mentioned by Marsh but Hattons of London’s website describes the situation as follows:
          “With the introduction of a new [Jubilee] portrait the Royal Mint was uncertain how the gold coinage would look, especially as the new portrait had a much finer level of detail.
          To ensure a high standard of production they decided to soften the gold by adding 1.25% silver to the alloy which was usually 91.7% gold and the remainder copper (for
          strength). By replacing 1.25% of the copper with silver, the natural golden colour was enhanced and the coins of 1887 looked more ‘yellow’. 
          This was only ever carried out in one year – 1887. Tests with the usual alloy proved acceptable, so in the following year the silver was not added to the alloy, making the 1887
           coins a one-year-only alloy.”
But did this apply to the Branches in Australia?  Below is a comparison of the London 1887 sovereign with the Melbourne one.  It seems that it was only the Royal Mint in London that used the ‘yellow’ gold in 1887? 

2017 kilo  Canadian Timber Wolf proof mintage 400

Two complete sets of the 2012 1 pound 1/2 ounce proof  Britannia silver portrait nine coin set in PF70. Not easy to put together and not inexpensive as well but a beautiful series. Thanks motorbikez for turning me on to this series.  

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