1914-1918 George V Sovereigns

[Serendipity]

1914-1918 George V Sovereigns

 

I recently purchased these First World War sovereigns online from @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer. Sovereigns issued during the First World War are significant to collectors and none more so than the 1914 and 1918 issues which are frequently paired together in collections to mark the beginning and end of the Great War. Sovereigns were believed to have been used by T. E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, to sway Arab tribes to join the Allied fight and were used as a reward for Arabs who returned any downed Allied airmen to safety. 

The war impacted on the sovereign - eventually being removed from circulation and replaced by banknotes, but it was still struck throughout the First World War, mostly in overseas branch mints. Due to its single year production, the Bombay Mint sovereign is generally the most sought-after issue for 1918. At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the gunfire finally ceased. This brought to an end over 4 years of fighting that had accounted for over 17 million military and civilian lives. George V’s reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, and the Indian independence movement, all of which radically changed the political landscape.

DESCRIPTION

George V (1910-36), gold sovereign, 1914 M, Melbourne Mint, Australia, bare head left, B.M. raised on truncation for engraver Bertram Mackennal, Latin legend and toothed border surrounding, GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT:OMN:REX F.D.IND:IMP: (“George V, by the Grace of God, King of all the Britons, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India”), rev. struck en médaille, St. George on horseback slaying dragon with sword right, plumed helmet with three strand streamer, horse with long tail, ending in three strands, with one spur higher up at curve, broken lance on ground-line to left, tiny WWP raised under lance for Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, mint mark M at centre of ground-line, date in exergue, tiny B.P. raised in upper right of exergue for engraver Benedetto Pistrucci, edge milled (Marsh 232; M.C.E. 642; S.3999). Almost extremely fine. Calendar year mintage 2,012,029.

George V (1910-36), gold sovereign, 1918 I, Bombay Mint, India, bare head left, B.M. raised on truncation for engraver Bertram Mackennal, Latin legend and toothed border surrounding, GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT:OMN:REX F.D.IND:IMP: (“George V, by the Grace of God, King of all the Britons, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India”), rev. struck en médaille, St. George on horseback slaying dragon with sword right, plumed helmet with three strand streamer, horse with long tail, ending in three strands, with one spur higher up at curve, broken lance on ground-line to left, tiny WWP raised under lance for Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, mint mark I at centre of ground-line, date in exergue, tiny B.P. raised in upper right of exergue for engraver Benedetto Pistrucci, edge milled (Marsh 228; S.3998). Obverse good very fine,  reverse almost extremely fine. Calendar year mintage 1,294,372.

State portrait of George V by Sir Luke Fildes, 1911.

Portrait of T. E. Lawrence by Augustus John, 1919. Tate Modern, London.

First World War propaganda poster featuring the sovereign, July 1915.

[Serendipity]

@LawrenceChard, I recently ordered a graded 1914 George V London Mint sovereign from Chards but was sent a 1914 George V Melbourne Mint sovereign by one of your team by mistake. It’s an understandable mistake because I ordered the 1914 George V London Mint sovereign together with a 1918 George V Bombay Mint sovereign and some Victoria sovereigns. Your team were clearly rushed off their feet that day. What I’ve decided to do is to keep the 1914 George V Melbourne Mint sovereign. I’m assuming the Melbourne Mint sovereign which was mistakenly sent to me is the same aEF grade as the graded London Mint sovereign which should have been sent. I’ve just ordered a 1914 George V London Mint sovereign which is graded EF from the Royal Mint. Your files need to be updated and corrected because they register that you sold a graded aEF 1914 George V London Mint sovereign on 25 March 2020 when it was in fact a 1914 George V Melbourne Mint sovereign that was sold to me on that date.

[LawrenceChard]

1 minute ago, Serendipity said:

@LawrenceChard, I recently ordered a graded 1914 George V London Mint sovereign from Chards but was sent a 1914 George V Melbourne Mint sovereign by one of your team by mistake. It’s an understandable mistake because I ordered the 1914 George V London Mint sovereign together with a 1918 George V Bombay Mint sovereign and some Victoria sovereigns. Your team were clearly rushed off their feet that day. What I’ve decided to do is to keep the 1914 George V Melbourne Mint sovereign. I’m assuming the Melbourne Mint sovereign which was mistakenly sent to me is the same aEF grade as the graded London Mint sovereign which should have been sent. I’ve just ordered a 1914 George V London Mint sovereign which is graded EF from the Royal Mint. Your files need to be updated and corrected because they register that you sold a graded aEF 1914 George V London Mint sovereign on 25 March 2020 when it was in fact a 1914 George V Melbourne Mint sovereign that was sold to me on that date.

Thanks for letting me know.

Yes, we have been busy, but...

... every order is supposed to be checked twice, so it should have got looked at 3 times in all.

We aim for zero errors!, and it should not matter how busy we were, so my apologies. It will be interesting to know how our aEF compares with the RM's EF, you could always let me or us know. We almost certainly do also have a similar grade of 1914-L.

I will also let our team know, and we will check our stock, thanks again.

[Midasfrog]

Have just picked up a set of the WW1 sovereigns with five different mint marks and a 1932 Pretoria  The five set came in a wooden presentation box .

[Serendipity]

Here’s @BackyardBullion showcasing his beautiful 1929 George V sovereign on YouTube back in 2018. These coins were struck at the Pretoria Mint in South Africa and were the very first to feature the smaller head portrait. About 12,024,107 were minted in that year. As mentioned in my post, the First World War impacted on the sovereign - eventually being removed from circulation and replaced by banknotes, but it was still struck mostly in overseas branch mints.