Sovereigns. Time to get some gold

[Kman]

They're nice aren't they?

Problem is the reverse is crap and it's this that has stopped me getting any, along with the difficulty in getting reliable valuations.

I had the chance of a few last year but dipped out. Wished I had now as prices are a lot higher than they were.

 

Yep the reverse looks more like a game token, it's a shame, would of been much better with the shield. 

 

Are they rare to come across? I've seen Australian sovereigns before of course but not with that portrait 

[sovereignsteve]

Yep the reverse looks more like a game token, it's a shame, would of been much better with the shield. 

 

Are they rare to come across? I've seen Australian sovereigns before of course but not with that portrait 

There were only produced in this format at the Sydney mint for about 10 - 15 years in the 1850's and 60's (could be wrong as I don't have my Marsh book with me and my memory's crap).

From 1871 onwards, sovereigns were minted at all the Oz branch mints in the same design as the London ones.

They're not particularly rare if you look at the mintage figures but most seem to be sold from Oz dealers with inflated values IMO. There isn't as much information around about then (in this country anyway) so it's difficult for us Brits to get a good handle on them. It's not easy to find examples in top condition either.

[JayB]

1870 Gold Sovereign Victoria Young Head Shield

There are two types of 1870 sovereigns, these are all of the second portrait, and all with a die number below the ribbon of the wreath and above the floral emblem on the reverse. The first type has the engraver's initials WW, incuse on the truncation of the neck, while the second type has these initials raised.
As the Sydney Mint did not start issuing British sovereigns, and the St. George and dragon reverse was not re-introduced, until the next year, 1871, all 1870 sovereigns are shield reverse and London Mint.

 

From Chards.....  no Aussie sovs that year?

[sovereignsteve]

1870 Gold Sovereign Victoria Young Head Shield

There are two types of 1870 sovereigns, these are all of the second portrait, and all with a die number below the ribbon of the wreath and above the floral emblem on the reverse. The first type has the engraver's initials WW, incuse on the truncation of the neck, while the second type has these initials raised.

As the Sydney Mint did not start issuing British sovereigns, and the St. George and dragon reverse was not re-introduced, until the next year, 1871, all 1870 sovereigns are shield reverse and London Mint.

 

From Chards.....  no Aussie sovs that year?

You're referring to the standard British design Young Head Shield. These Aussie Sydney Mint designs are sometimes referred to as Bun Heads although it's actually not strictly correct. The bun head is a design on some old pennies.

 

http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk/1870australian.html

[sovereignsteve]

The picture shown is of the 1855 which is a different bust again, not exactly straightforward!

[JayB]

Damn! I thought I'd found something intriguing......

 

I'll get me coat  

[sovereignsteve]

Damn! I thought I'd found something intriguing......

 

I'll get me coat  

Chards are seldom wrong when it comes to sovereigns. Confusing sometimes but wrong, no.

[JayB]

Yes, I wasn't casting doubt on anyone's knowledge, I thought I'd found something interesting. Never mind! 

[sovereignsteve]

Yes, I wasn't casting doubt on anyone's knowledge, I thought I'd found something interesting. Never mind! 

You quite often get confusion and anomalies on the cusp date of a design change etc.

[Kman]

I bought the double yesterday and was toying with the idea of the £5 obviously from the same set but lo and behold it didn't last long!

 

Was just thinking about this

 

Was a split up 2011 5 coin sovereign set

They were £3,800.00 new from the Royal Mint so damnnn someone must have made a massive loss on these to end up on HGM

[Kman]

No idea if anyone here would want this, probably not, but it's interesting anyway

 

"The Sovereign Mintmark Collection"

 

http://atkinsonsbullion.com/the-sovereign-mintmark-collection-566

[FriedrichVonHayek]

I managed to get a 1900 Full Sovereign for £200.60 (including fees) at an auction yesterday.

It was in a 9 carat loose mount which weighs around 1.4 grams so that should take of around £10-£15 off what I have paid for it.

The Sovereign has now been unshackled from its mount as nature intended,I will now sell the mount.

I hate coins being used in Jewellery.

[K_theepan]

Sovereign used to use as ring. The reason behind its, it's your credit card in your wallet.

Still today in India you see it that men have sovereign ring. When you need cash or in trouble you jus take the sovereign out for payment

[Kman]

Why is this 1959 worth so much?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1959-Queen-Elizabeth-II-Great-Britain-Gold-Sovereign-Coin-PCGS-MS66-/361232625159?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item541b246e07

[Lindeman]

No idea if anyone here would want this, probably not, but it's interesting anyway

 

"The Sovereign Mintmark Collection"

 

http://atkinsonsbullion.com/the-sovereign-mintmark-collection-566

Yeah - I saw that too Kman when I started my mini-obsession with mintmarks a few months ago. But to me this kinda spoils the fun of chasing them down individually, which I think is part of the sovereign joy....or is that a bit nerdy?

Anyway - I still need a few of these to complete my mixed set, but I will keep on the individual path.

[Kman]

 But to me this kinda spoils the fun of chasing them down individually, which I think is part of the sovereign joy....or is that a bit nerdy?

 

Yep I know what you mean

 

They work out to £257 each too; you would hope you would be able to put them together cheaper yourself. 

[sovereignsteve]

I hate coins being used in Jewellery.

Hear hear. I have seen some fabulous, very rare coins ruined by mounting as a pendant.

The ones in a loose mount tend to turn and you can see the scratch marks around the rim where the wording is.

[sovereignsteve]

Why is this 1959 worth so much?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1959-Queen-Elizabeth-II-Great-Britain-Gold-Sovereign-Coin-PCGS-MS66-/361232625159?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item541b246e07

Well IMO opinion it isn't worth anything like the £1550 it's up to at the moment with half an hour to go. I have a couple in pretty much the same condition but not slabbed.

The '59 is the lowest mintage of the E2 sovs and usually fetches a premium. However, this is crazy, just shows you what some mugs will pay for a "rarer" coin, not "rare" in any sense of the word, in a pretty good graded condition. The seller is a highly respected dealer who usually has some very rare and expensive coins on ebay every sunday evening.

I think I've just found my next vocation.

[Kman]

If you're looking for a specific date or mint mark might be worth giving HGM a call tomorrow, they seem to have 50+ sovereigns in stock atm 

[Stu]

Well IMO opinion it isn't worth anything like the £1550 it's up to at the moment with half an hour to go. I have a couple in pretty much the same condition but not slabbed.

The '59 is the lowest mintage of the E2 sovs and usually fetches a premium. However, this is crazy, just shows you what some mugs will pay for a "rarer" coin, not "rare" in any sense of the word, in a pretty good graded condition. The seller is a highly respected dealer who usually has some very rare and expensive coins on ebay every sunday evening.

I think I've just found my next vocation.

Bairds are selling 1959 sovereigns for £219 squids. Also have 2012 diamond jubilee sov for £200, anyone know the mintage number for these, may be worth a buy?

[sovereignsteve]

Bairds are selling 1959 sovereigns for £219 squids. Also have 2012 diamond jubilee sov for £200, anyone know the mintage number for these, may be worth a buy?

The 2012 being a special year was quite a high mintage for recent years, about 750,000. Even so, being a one-off design, command a premium. £200 is good.

The 1959 was over 1.25 million which was the lowest mintage for the period up to to the mid eighties. £219 isn't cheap but not bad.

[FriedrichVonHayek]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/King-George-V-Sovereign-in-9ct-Gold-Mount-/231512343761?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35e73604d1

 

Is this Sovereign real?

If it was minted in London it is a very rare coin.

[Ares]

I can't tell because I'm not the one to ask, but may as well bid on it as you're covered. The seller has 'full gold sovereign' in the description.

[FriedrichVonHayek]

If it was real it would be worth a few grand.

I have done a little research,apparently there were many fakes that came out of Lebanon in the 70s.

[Ares]

But you are covered if it's fake as it's advertised as genuine, there is literally zero risk.

Depends how much you value your own time in the extremely likely event it's fake. I can't say either way because I've not got an eye for it.

Best case - deal of the decade. Worst case, you get a refund. Might even get the value of the 9ct mount as profit.