Sovereigns- Eighteen reasons to get excited by them. Over 200 years of history right here...

[richatthecroft]

Eighteen reasons to get excited about Sovereigns.

I received a lovely 1863 Victoria Sovereign today and this one concluded my 'Change of Portrait' Type Set from 1817 to present day 😅  The type set includes all the Portrait changes for each Monarch.  I have attempted to acquire the inaugural year date for each Portrait change. 

All the 19th Century examples are Sovereigns and where practicable, all of the 20th & 21st Century Sovereigns are Proof examples.  

Over time I will likely try and seek out a nicer example of the 1825 George IV; replace the 1836 William IV with the inaugural year of 1831; attempt to do the same by replacing the 1863 Victoria with a nice 1838 example and for Elizabeth II, replace the 1987 Maklouf Portrait with the inaugural 1985 year date.  

In the meantime, for those who appreciate them, enjoy the Sovereigns 😀

 

Benedetto Pistrucci 

Benedetto Pistrucci 

William Wyon

William Wyon

William Wyon 

Joseph Egar Boehm 

Thomas Brock

George William de Saulles

Bertram Mackennal

Humphrey Paget

Mary Gillick 

Arnold Machin

Arnold Machin

Raphel Maklouf

Bernard Sindall

Ian Rank- Broadley

Jody Clark 

James Butler

Edited October 9, 2021 by richatthecroft

[Spence098]

Amazing collection Rich 👏👍

[Swampy]

Lovely work Rich.  Great coins making a very nice collection! 

[Roy]

Just wow. 

I think @Paul asked a question earlier?

😉

 

[lxy70713]

Well done.

[pricha]

No Australian Sovereign ?  

[richatthecroft]

3 minutes ago, pricha said:

No Australian Sovereign ?  

To keep it simple it’s an 18 Sovereign a type set of London Mint and Pontyclun Minted Sovereigns for the later issues.     

Perhaps in the future I might think about a type set collection featuring Branch Mint Sovereigns- lots of options to consider, I’ll have to do some more reading- anyone have any interesting ideas? 

[pricha]

17 minutes ago, richatthecroft said:

To keep it simple it’s an 18 Sovereign a type set of London Mint and Pontyclun Minted Sovereigns for the later issues.     

Perhaps in the future I might think about a type set collection featuring Branch Mint Sovereigns- lots of options to consider, I’ll have to do some more reading- anyone have any interesting ideas? 

who said sovereigns were boring ? 😊

[1817Karl]

Super set of portrait changes. The 1817 looks lovely. 😂

[Midasfrog]

On 08/05/2021 at 17:20, richatthecroft said:

To keep it simple it’s an 18 Sovereign a type set of London Mint and Pontyclun Minted Sovereigns for the later issues.     

Perhaps in the future I might think about a type set collection featuring Branch Mint Sovereigns- lots of options to consider, I’ll have to do some more reading- anyone have any interesting ideas? 

For your next eighteen sovereign collection how about a set of struck on the day sovereigns from between the years 2012 to 2021 there are 18 to collect 🧐

[Stuntman]

Some cracking coins there.  Well done.

As others have said already, your 1817 is particularly lovely.  That or the 1989 for me, irrespective of value.  I presume the 1937 is actually the most valuable at the moment?

[richatthecroft]

2 hours ago, Stuntman said:

Some cracking coins there.  Well done.

As others have said already, your 1817 is particularly lovely.  That or the 1989 for me, irrespective of value.  I presume the 1937 is actually the most valuable at the moment?

Thank you.

I agree, the 1817 is lovely, and is likely the most valuable currently.  It’s conservatively designated MS62, I bought it pre-graded.

@SilverMike continues to encourage me to have my 1937 Sovereign and the remainder of my 1937 Set graded to take the subjectivity out of their condition.  Mike has appraised it and believes it might hit an Ultra Cameo and I guess in this scenario it’ll overtake the 1817 as the most valuable.  I guess there’s only one way to find out! But I do prefer my coins raw and as issued. 

My favourite Sovereign out of them all is the 1817; my favourite Portrait is the 1821 George IV but the most satisfying purchase here was the 1836 William IV as it looks far better than its AU55 Grade and it was reasonably priced.  
 

 

[richatthecroft]

4 hours ago, Midasfrog said:

For your next eighteen sovereign collection how about a set of struck on the day sovereigns from between the years 2012 to 2021 there are 18 to collect 🧐

Nice idea, thanks.  

But I think my next project will be Silver Crowns or perhaps Half Crowns- I’m undecided

I was so pleased that this one sold, my finger started to ache hovering over the ‘buy’ button for hours on end.  😂 
 

I hope it went to a good home. Fantastic coin this one:

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by richatthecroft

[Stuntman]

What a belter that 1818 crown is.  A complete world away from my 1820, which I still love as a piece of history 😄

 

[richatthecroft]

Just now, Stuntman said:

What a belter that 1818 crown is.  A complete world away from my 1820, which I still love as a piece of history 😄

 

Agreed it looked like a fabulous example- it was the £1100 price tag that was the stumbling block that prevented my clicking the buy button! 😂 

Worth every penny though, do you think? 

Imagine owning a nice portrait set of Crowns around this grade/ condition. 

[Stuntman]

£1100 is a decent price for that, I would say.  I think the days of buying one of those for less than £1000 from a reputable seller are probably behind us.
For reference I paid £120 for mine in 2015 and with hindsight I think I overpaid.

[Stuntman]

Personally @richatthecroft I think you should fund the start of your crown collecting project by selling your 1989 BU Quintuple sovereign to me, for spot plus shall-we-say £100? 😁

[richatthecroft]

17 minutes ago, Stuntman said:

Personally @richatthecroft I think you should fund the start of your crown collecting project by selling your 1989 BU Quintuple sovereign to me, for spot plus shall-we-say £100? 😁

You'll have to ask the new owner of the 1989 Bu- I sold it a little while ago to help fund my 2017 5 Coin Sovereign Set.

 

24 minutes ago, Stuntman said:

£1100 is a decent price for that, I would say.  I think the days of buying one of those for less than £1000 from a reputable seller are probably behind us.
For reference I paid £120 for mine in 2015 and with hindsight I think I overpaid.

I think you are absolutely right, it was a fair price for that Crown, there's not too many that attractively toned and in that condition.  In terms of your Crown, I guess in the intervening 5 or so years you have learnt a great deal about coins, so you would likely not buy that coin over again, but you will be in pole position now to seek out a bargain when one comes along.  Yours is still a lovely Crown and it certainly won't be worth any less.   

[Stuntman]

Cheers.  I hadn't realised you'd sold the 1989 quintuple, I would have loved to have been in the running for that one.  It's one of the very few coins that I covet enough to justify making what for me would be a very big purchase.

I hope it's gone to a good home.

On your Crowns type set - would you start from 1818 or would you go earlier, even back to say 1658 (Cromwell)?

If you started at 1818 and wanted first year of portrait for currency (non-proof) strikes, you could have:

1818 - George III LVIII

1821 - George IV Secundo

1844- Victoria Young Head

1847 - Victoria Gothic Head - pricey though

1887 - Victoria Jubilee Head

1893 - Victoria Old//Veiled/Widow Head

1902 - Edward VII

1928 - George V Wreath

1935 - George V Jubilee

1937 - George VI Coronation

If you wanted to include proofs, you have some VERY pricey George IV, William IV and Victoria pieces to source 😉

and if you continued to Elizabeth II:

1953 - Coronation

1960 - Gillick

1972 - Machin, Silver Wedding

1977 - Silver Jubilee

(and then onwards to the modern £5 'Crowns' if you wished!

Edited May 12, 2021 by Stuntman
fat fingers on Victoria Gothic date!

[richatthecroft]

On 12/05/2021 at 20:14, Stuntman said:

Cheers.  I hadn't realised you'd sold the 1989 quintuple, I would have loved to have been in the running for that one.  It's one of the very few coins that I covet enough to justify making what for me would be a very big purchase.

I hope it's gone to a good home.

On your Crowns type set - would you start from 1818 or would you go earlier, even back to say 1658 (Cromwell)?

If you started at 1818 and wanted first year of portrait for currency (non-proof) strikes, you could have:

1818 - George III LVIII

1821 - George IV Secundo

1844- Victoria Young Head

1847 - Victoria Gothic Head - pricey though

1887 - Victoria Jubilee Head

1893 - Victoria Old//Veiled/Widow Head

1902 - Edward VII

1928 - George V Wreath

1935 - George V Jubilee

1937 - George VI Coronation

If you wanted to include proofs, you have some VERY pricey George IV, William IV and Victoria pieces to source 😉

and if you continued to Elizabeth II:

1953 - Coronation

1960 - Gillick

1972 - Machin, Silver Wedding

1977 - Silver Jubilee

(and then onwards to the modern £5 'Crowns' if you wished!

 

To update this thread, in terms of @Stuntman's suggestions of what Crowns to collect.  

I clearly haven't the resources to purchase an example of a William IV Crown, and the Victoria Gothic Crown is one that I will need to dig deep for at some point in the future. I haven't decided if I want to backdate further, but I have started to piece together modern Crowns in terms of Coronation Anniversary and Jubilee issues.  

Its been quite satisfying (and expensive) getting this far.  I have essentially bought the best within my budget- the minimum grade being EF/ GEF- but all with nice eye appeal and there are some Uncirculated Grades, including some lovely Proofs- 1902 Matte; 1927 Wreath; 1951, 1972 & 1977.  I have also 'duplicated' the 1937 in terms of having the Proof and an Uncirculated example.  I might well do this with other year dates.  

The 1820 George III and the 1821 George IV along with the 1902 Edward VII Matte Proof, the 1927 George V Wreath and the 1960 Elizabeth II Prooflike are my top 5.     

 

Here's where I am with the collection so far:

 

[Stuntman]

Very nice, well done!
I think your 1821 is my favourite, with the 1902 a close second and the 1820 completing the podium 😃

The 1972 and 1977 actually look good in what I presume to be silver proof specification.  I just have the cupro-nickel versions.

Agree also about your 1960 - very tidy!

I would be tempted to go backwards from your 1820 and get a decent example of an early milled Crown for each monarch back to Charles II.  Probably a deep breath required for a nice William & Mary example but it's a lovely design that I would seriously love to own.  

And then take some very deep breaths and get the Gothic Crown and a Cromwell Crown!

[richatthecroft]

Thanks@Stuntman for giving me the nudge to get cracking with the Crowns. 

Agreed on the 1821, it’s a lovely Crown.  Yes, the 1972 and 1977 are Proof and the 1960 Prooflike (from Polished dies). 
Logically, I think you’re right going further back would be the next step but I’ll have to do some reading first.  A Cromwell would be the holy grail.  There’s quite a bit of noise surrounding the Gothic Crown currently and a good chance of being rinsed pursuing one, it might be worth waiting until the fuss has died somewhat? 

Edited September 18, 2021 by richatthecroft

[Spence098]

23 hours ago, richatthecroft said:

 

To update this thread, in terms of @Stuntman's suggestions of what Crowns to collect.  

I clearly haven't the resources to purchase an example of a William IV Crown, and the Victoria Gothic Crown is one that I will need to dig deep for at some point in the future. I haven't decided if I want to backdate further, but I have started to piece together modern Crowns in terms of Coronation Anniversary and Jubilee issues.  

Its been quite satisfying (and expensive) getting this far.  I have essentially bought the best within my budget- the minimum grade being EF/ GEF- but all with nice eye appeal and there are some Uncirculated Grades, including some lovely Proofs- 1902 Matte; 1927 Wreath; 1951, 1972 & 1977.  I have also 'duplicated' the 1937 in terms of having the Proof and an Uncirculated example.  I might well do this with other year dates.  

The 1820 George III and the 1821 George IV along with the 1902 Edward VII Matte Proof, the 1927 George V Wreath and the 1960 Elizabeth II Prooflike are my top 5.     

 

Here's where I am with the collection so far:

 

Do you want mine rich 👀😂

[SidS]

Some great coins there both gold and silver.

I really like William IV coinage for some weird reason.

I adore Vicky Young Head crowns, they look great in hand.

[richatthecroft]

1 hour ago, Spence098 said:

Do you want mine rich 👀😂

I’m looking for one 👍