Booky586

The only reference I've seen so far is this one, in "The Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign" by David Iverson (https://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/jubilee_brochure). Here it states on page 5 "the royal Mint in London decided that for technical reasons they should add an amount of silver to the alloy..." Unfortunately it doesn't supply the original source. Edit - I've just reread your post and realised my mistake, this doesn't refer to Australian coins!

£200 in half sovereigns is going to be 400 in a bag. £71,556 in today's money!

Another 1892 counterfeit sovereign on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QUEEN-VICTORIA-GOLD-SOVEREIGN-COIN-FROM-1892-7-98g/125770643308?pageci=8583b647-def2-49f6-9a11-3a89c3381f87&redirect=mobile Reported as counterfeit, let's see if eBay take the sale down

Hi J Your going to need to upload better quality photos if anyone is going to make an accurate judgment. I can't clearly see the mint mark but there's a decent set of photos of an 1892S that you could make a side by side comparison with here: https://auctions.thecoincabinet.com/lots/view/4-3D03WG/1892-s-gold-sovereign-pcgs-ms62-17242891-agw02355-oz And the attachment is probably worth a read for assessing jubilee heads The Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign 1887-1893 Iverson.pdf

You need data, the more the better. I guess the royal mint archives would hold useful information but I wouldn't know how accessable it is. I've read somewhere that underweight sovereigns were taken out of circulation at irregular intervals with several years between these events rather than extraction happening as an ongoing process.

85% gold 15% silver By the way, it looks really good!

No problem! 😀

A Craven Bank cloth coin bag for the collection, this one is for 400 half sovereigns. I'm not sure of the age but the Craven Bank ceased trading in 1906

Links to eBay sales web addresses aren't much use for a historical record, eBay delete the sales pages after 90 days and all you get is a broken link. Try opening this one now:

When I can't get hold of an original hardcopy I'll settle for a PDF, but I've searched the web and can't find the Quartermaster catalogue in any ebook format. Anyone got a copy out there?

I found this little video on the internet and the image of the proof coin with holes drilled in it drew my attention! It has some interesting information on hallmarking, precious metal chemical analysis and the Trial of the Pyx.

The Royal Mint Coin Club Bulletins are a good reference for historical data, including all the issue prices plus the sales info. Unfortunately I'm missing the issue that includes the 1988 BU five pound sovereign though! If anyone wants any scans or photos from any particular issue I'm happy to send on, I've got most issues from 1984 to 2000 and in the process of trying to build a full set.

Yes, I'd say so. There's some helpful info for identifying jubilee head sovereigns here: https://www.drakesterling.com/news/post/jubilee-head-gold-sovereign-varieties https://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/jubilee_brochure

I asked a similar question recently regarding a 1914 Sydney half sovereign. The diameter was oversized, as yours is: The coin turned out to be genuine so I kept it, so don't think being oversized automatically means counterfeit. Looking at your photos I can't see anything that indicates it's a forgery (disregarding it's size). If you aren't confident it's real then you could return it to HGM or, if you'd like to keep it, ask them to analyse it and send on the results.

An 1891 brockage? 😀

This reminded me of my education and learning by rote, and hence the BODMAS quote. Doesn't matter if you use division before or after multiplication, you'll arrive at the same answer, but you know that anyway!

BODMAS! 😀

Here's a recent bullion sovereign purchase from here on TSF, an 1888 Melbourne mint. I'm really pleased with this find as it's a 1st legend variety, DISH M9, and rarity R4.

The last photo shows off its lovely "proof like" appearance

Remember reading somewhere he was inspired by the Greek horsemen depicted on Elgin marbles

New circulation 50p coin in my change today

Ahh, I understand now 👍

The trade board? What's that?

Yes, I hadn't considered the grade in my rough count. The ones I've seen aren't the highest of grades.

I'll share my recent experience chasing an R5 rated sovereign, the 1888 1st legend jubilee head from the London mint (DISH L8). It's rated as R5 in Marsh and Steve Hill thinks it should be upgraded to R6 (3 or 4 known to exist). Here's what he writes: 'This is an extremely rare coin, there have been no examples present in any of the major auctions, including the "Bentley Collection" sold by Baldwin. It is far rarer than the current valuation suggests in the "Spink Standard Catalogue" and since the DISH publication was released indicating the rarity as R5, it is now thought that it would be more accurate to call this variety Rarity 6.' https://www.sovr.co.uk/products/victoria-1888-sovereign-london-first-legend-extremely-rare-variety-ei16305 John Blyth had one for sale recently and says he has only ever seen two others for sale. https://jonblyth.com/coins/coin-details.aspx?id=2450 And another Sovereign rarities, sold for £1500: https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/sovereign_rarities/263/product/victoria_gold_sovereign_1888_l8_r6/968584/Default.aspx The PCGS population report shows 3 coins in the database: https://www.pcgs.com/valueview/victoria-1838-1901/1888-sov-s-3866-1st-obverse/4015?sn=207059&h=pop However, I have seen three of these coins (not slabbed) pass through UK auctions only this year: For £1200, at London coins: https://www.londoncoins.co.uk/?page=Pastresults&auc=176&searchlot=1989&searchtype=2 For £750, at the Coin Cabinet: https://auctions.thecoincabinet.com/lots/view/4-5NX9XR/1888-gold-sovereign-first-legend-very-fine-agw02355-oz And £855, on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125611773560 So with the 3 for sale/sold by the dealers, 3 in the PCGS population and 3 sold at auction this year there are potentially 9 out there. And I guess there will be more to surface that haven't yet been recognised, so I'd guess this coin is heading towards R4 rather than R6. I've not seen any in really good condition, most are about fine to very fine grade, and prices range from £750 to £1500. Best of luck with the hunt!