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Booky586

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Everything posted by Booky586

  1. @LawrenceChard has a very good video on fake sovereigns, about 6 minutes and 20 seconds in he discusses fakes that remind me of yours with additional markings. It's definitely worth a watch if you've not already seen it:
  2. Yes, I'm still looking out for collectable coins. All time high might encourage sales of dormant collections and the chance of some interesting sleepers. I'm speculating here but there may also be a lag in the premium over spot prices on coins at auction etc.
  3. The original photo was a little blurry and the error wasn't too clear so a nice result for the buyer. Just had a look at the PCGS population and there are only 4 of this type.
  4. Well spotted, a very nice overdate with an 8 over a smaller 8. The PCGS image has a die clash, more obvious on the reverse. I wonder if yours has the fault?
  5. You have a good variety of different heads/monarchs already, so may be a good old Victorian shield back would fit into your collection nicely. Then Edward VII, Elizabeth II Gillick.....
  6. That's interesting. Ansell makes no mention of his specially treated sovereigns just cracking and being melted down. Do you have a source for this information?
  7. Yes, I totally agree, if one surfaces I'm sure it would be snapped up quickly. It was the quantities that surprised me, I thought a quarter of a million was a lot compared to other rarities. My time night be better spent looking for those. 👍
  8. Following on from the discussion on rarity of Ansell sovereigns, I'm just doing some reading of "The Royal Mint" by Ansell and I came across a line that hinted at the quantity of Ansell sovereigns minted. The book states: "... more than a quarter of a million of sovereigns were coined from unannealed blanks obtained from brittle gold... The gold alluded to as coined in 1859... contained antimony, arsenic and lead, so was predisposed to become brittle..." The total sovereign mintage in 1859 was 1,547,603 and if over 250,000 were the Ansell variety then that is 1 in every 6 of that year. Is there really that many of them around? I've been searching for sleepers of this coin and I've never seen one yet. I can only assume that they've already been filtered out of the population as it's such an expensive and collectable coin.
  9. I'm not aware of any source document or standard from the 1816 period that specifies the diameter of the sovereign. "The Royal Mint" by Ansell is a good starting point and it's worth a read. In it he states "The diameter and consequent thickness of a coin are not determined by law, but by it's suitableness for the public to whom it is to be issued; consequentially the usual mode of arriving at the diameter of a coin is too make it of such a size that it will emit the most musical sound it is capable of." Not bad eh, doesn't matter what diameter it is, so long as it sounds nice! 🤣 Here's a screenshot with some data on coin diameters: https://archive.org/details/royalmint01anse
  10. These are lovely little coins. My Mum used to have earrings made with a pair of them so I have a strong attraction. With a gold content value of £97 the premiums are just to high. I wouldn't buy a sovereign for £800 and I like them better!
  11. This coin is 13th in the list of top forged US coins so be confident that's it genuine. https://www.ngccoin.com/resources/counterfeit-detection/top/united-states/ Your coin pictures show a very weak strike, take a look at the denticles. Here's a photo from the PCGS website for comparison.
  12. Following on from my above post, from the royal mint website: https://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/mintage-figures/2016-dated-uk-commemorative-coin-sales/ I've not been able to find the billion mintage figures for this year, which aren't included in the above list.
  13. There's alot more billion half sovereigns around then a total of 472. My guess is the figures for this year have been swapped over for "Bullion" and "Brilliant Uncirculated". I don't have the "Gold Sovereign" in front of me but think the same applies to some of the previous years (2013, 2014, 2015?) and for similar full sovereigns.
  14. Hi Hotdog, apologies for raising an old post so hope it's still relevant. I have an identical 1887S Sovereign which, like yours, has an oversize diameter of 22.43mm (link to photos below). I also have a Sydney half sovereign where the diameter measures at 19.7mm compared to the specification of 19.3mm, 0.4mm oversize. Reading other comments and posts on Sydney mint sovereigns around this period it seems it's not unusual to find them larger than spec. On comparison between my 1887 London and Sydney mint the London coin has the greater yellow appearance, the Sydney coin has a more normal colour, but that's just based on the 2 coins in hand.
  15. If it hasn't been listed properly and is offered outside of eBay you won't get any buyer protection, rightly to be wary of a scam!
  16. 🤣🤣 Well spotted! I should go back and put it right but it's in the open now. Oh, and your dog too 👈 😁
  17. Fantastic photos, keep on posting them! I'm with James and NGMD, I wouldn't be surprised if the dies are finished by laser. Have a look at the scan I've attached from an 1986 Royal Mint Coin Club Bulletin. It describes how the frosting used to be applied to the dies, historically by Nitric acid etching and then by glass bead shot blasting. 1986-21 Die Polishing.pdf
  18. Yes, it's the 1887 London mint I posted photos of yesterday 🖕
  19. Good luck with the grade, I'm considering sending this one off too.
  20. Some more 1st legend varieties for the photo collection. First one was a sleeper I found on eBay and is an 1887 London mint, DISH L1. The photo doesn't do the colour justice, it's a very yellow gold. And this one is an 1887 Sydney mint, DISH S1. It's a bit oversize on the diameter at 22.43mm.
  21. I think the marks on the rim are where they poured the brass into the casting mould!
  22. I honestly can't tell, just speculating.
  23. I couldn't guess true or false based on the current photos, your need clearer detailed ones to judge. I can see some possible damage to the rim in the right one, on its edge adjacent too REX F D. Thought it might be the remains of a jewellers mount but who'd moun"t a coin sideways on?
  24. Very generous of you, it'd be rude not to accept!
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