Thoughts on Sovereign coins \ history

[Blehhhh]

I've decided to buy a Sovereign, initially was mainly for the gold value.

I had planned to pick up one at 2 percent premium. But now that I look at them, I just love the idea of having an old Queen Victoria one from the 1800s. There is something magical about the history around it.

Then I think I would be mad for paying the extra premium. Any thoughts?.

[Midasfrog]

The extra premium stays with the Victoria Sovereigns when the time comes to sell . Also later Young Head Sovereigns can some times be picked up without the higher premium close to spot price if your lucky 🙄

[silenceissilver]

3 hours ago, Blehhhh said:

I've decided to buy a Sovereign, initially was mainly for the gold value.

I had planned to pick up one at 2 percent premium. But now that I look at them, I just love the idea of having an old Queen Victoria one from the 1800s. There is something magical about the history around it.

Then I think I would be mad for paying the extra premium. Any thoughts?.

Many here have Queen Victoria Sovereigns, I have got a few as well. If you sell 50 Sovereigns amongst them 5 Queen Victoria Sovereigns, you will often only get bullion value for the whole lot. Many dealers will also pay thee same for all Sovereigns or only a part of the extra premium that you paid as their customer. If you sell privately, e.g. on this forum, you should get the full premium back (and probably also from some dealers). When I was in a gold shop in London a few months ago and asked for Shield Back Sovereigns they asked back if I have some to sell for them as they had so few. I've also noticed they have been very rare on Atkinson for I think half a year whereas they used to have plenty at any time, a year ago which indicates they are sought after which should make it easy to get the premium back. But it depends. If it has an ugly scratch for example, you might only get bullion value.

[5huggy]

12 hours ago, Blehhhh said:

I've decided to buy a Sovereign, initially was mainly for the gold value.

 

9 hours ago, Midasfrog said:

The extra premium stays with the Victoria Sovereigns when the time comes to sell

@Blehhhh  as @Midasfrog says, but also just like GOLD itself you cant make more -therefore more sought after by collectors particularly IMHO

[Stuntman]

An alternative way into buying a piece of history (if you like the romance of being the current custodian of such a coin) would be to buy some predecimal silver, bronze or copper coins.  You can pick up a nice example of a common year (i.e. reasonably high mintage) for all monarchs from George III to Elizabeth II, covering the era of the modern sovereign, for a much lower outlay.  For example, shillings or half crowns are a good shout, other denominations are of course open to you as well.

You can get a pretty nice George III shilling for about £60, but I think it would cost you around £600 for even a pretty terrible George III sovereign.

In essence I'm suggesting that you buy a few lower value, lower absolute premium coins to enjoy as a collector, and then by cheaper sovereigns as close to spot as you can.

But enjoy the journey, whatever you decide 😀

[Blehhhh]

4 hours ago, Stuntman said:

An alternative way into buying a piece of history (if you like the romance of being the current custodian of such a coin) would be to buy some predecimal silver, bronze or copper coins.  You can pick up a nice example of a common year (i.e. reasonably high mintage) for all monarchs from George III to Elizabeth II, covering the era of the modern sovereign, for a much lower outlay.  For example, shillings or half crowns are a good shout, other denominations are of course open to you as well.

You can get a pretty nice George III shilling for about £60, but I think it would cost you around £600 for even a pretty terrible George III sovereign.

In essence I'm suggesting that you buy a few lower value, lower absolute premium coins to enjoy as a collector, and then by cheaper sovereigns as close to spot as you can.

But enjoy the journey, whatever you decide 😀

Thanks,

I ended up getting a Victoria Sovereign. I didnt pay that much extra, more interested in the gold quality. But I just wanted an older gold coin too. Its a good middle ground. 

Im staying well clear of physical silver at the minute.

[Arganto]

The more I look at the Young Head I bought the more difficult I find it to put it down. The 2020's though live happily in the dark, shiny though they are. There's something about all that history locked up in a little coin that's fascinating, plus the young head (I think mine is a third edition) shows a very attractive Queen Victoria, it's something about the informal hair style and the shape of the mouth and nose. I never thought I'd be saying fruity stuff like that before I got into this hobby! 

Also, it's been spoken of a lot so I won't labour the point; the newer sovereigns don't look like 'proper' gold to me. They make me think of a hybrid between a bronze penny and the rose gold from a certain Welsh trademark. The older coins are beautiful especially with the right amount of age showing.