Collecting Sovereigns

[Divmad]

Given the vast choice of dates, reigns, portraits and condition (proof/bullion etc), where would collectors/stackers advise to focus on for maximum future potential capital growth, given that all will rise on a rising fiat money tide?

[Robda1986]

Aim for low premium pieces as the price of gold moves premiums seem to stick or look at sheild backed 

[Divmad]

3 minutes ago, Robda1986 said:

Aim for low premium pieces as the price of gold moves premiums seem to stick or look at sheild backed 

Hi Robda,

That's interesting. Shieldback because they were circulated in quite low numbers, typically 2m-4m each year? Or because of their position as the very first Victorian sovereign design? Or their relative scarcity now because of their age? Or a bit of all of the above.

ATB.

[Robda1986]

A little of everything imo they look nicer and seem to hold their premiums a bit better take the 2002 for instance a decent mintage of 75k so not rare but not common and your looking around the 360 mark compared to a 2006 of around the same mintage being 330 

[xthomasx]

Shield backs with MS grades (I have none so far but I see how good they do at auctions).

[dicker]

Victoria Sovereigns are, for me a sweet spot.  Beautiful coins, huge variety to chose from and build a collection from.  

I particularly like the M and S Victoria Sovereigns.  
 

Best

Dicker

[LawrenceChard]

50 minutes ago, dicker said:

Victoria Sovereigns are, for me a sweet spot.  Beautiful coins, huge variety to chose from and build a collection from.  

I particularly like the M and S Victoria Sovereigns.  
Best

Dicker

I didn't realise Marks and Spencer had started selling coins! 😎

Our local M&S is on Victoria Road, so I should have suspected.

[dicker]

Some what better than S and M!

[Divmad]

12 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

I didn't realise Marks and Spencer had started selling coins! 😎

Our local M&S is on Victoria Road, so I should have suspected.

I was thinking M&S Victoria Sponge at first. Very nice.

[LawrenceChard]

37 minutes ago, Divmad said:

I was thinking M&S Victoria Sponge at first. Very nice.

Possibly, but my wife makes better Victoria sponge cake, although I prefer her chocolate cake, and the parkin she made on Friday had all gone by Sunday morning. Now we are back to double yellow lines. 😎

Now, being technical for a moment, if we are talking about sponge, it had better be platinum, not gold.

[Tn21]

For Max future potential growth - buy as low as you can when it comes to bullion. 

[Divmad]

7 hours ago, Tn21 said:

For Max future potential growth - buy as low as you can when it comes to bullion. 

As a matter of interest, when did gold sovereigns first become "bullion" coins?

 

[GoldStatue]

1 hour ago, Divmad said:

As a matter of interest, when did gold sovereigns first become "bullion" coins?

 

WWI basically killed them off as a coin in circulation in the UK and then we left the gold standard in the 1930's, which decoupled the intrinsic gold value from the value of the pound.

[Divmad]

8 minutes ago, GoldStatue said:

WWI basically killed them off as a coin in circulation in the UK and then we left the gold standard in the 1930's, which decoupled the intrinsic gold value from the value of the pound.

I read somewhere that a lot of these older sovereigns in circulation were melted down and shipped as gold bullion to the USA in part settlement of war incurred debts. Was this for WW1 or WW2 or both? I wonder what % of Victorian sovereigns went that way?

[GoldStatue]

38 minutes ago, Divmad said:

I read somewhere that a lot of these older sovereigns in circulation were melted down and shipped as gold bullion to the USA in part settlement of war incurred debts. Was this for WW1 or WW2 or both? I wonder what % of Victorian sovereigns went that way?

Yes the WWI sovereigns were sent to the US to pay for the war effort, at the time it was US policy to melt foreign currency down so very little of it survived.

For the Victorian era sovereigns people know the mintages but basically guess the survival rate, they had a different attitude to coins back then so they were used as currency or put in jewellery and not generally looked after like the coins of the modern era.

[RDHC]

57 minutes ago, GoldStatue said:

Yes the WWI sovereigns were sent to the US to pay for the war effort, at the time it was US policy to melt foreign currency down so very little of it survived.

 

Plus about £3,000,000 worth of mid-Victorian sovereigns to pay the US for the 'Alabama' compensation in 1870. They would have been melted down too, and they were recent, full weight coins as specified by the US.

[Divmad]

So pre-1870 Victorian sovereigns in slabbed form, in particular, must be a real collector's item.

[PortugueseStacker]

I prefer the Queen Victoria Young Head Shield back Sovereigns, with die numbers.

Unless you are planning to sell it online or to the United States of America , avoid slabs.

[KevjustKev]

I've just completed a date run of Gillick head sov' s. Only ten coins, a nice little set. You could do worse 

[dicker]

On 20/11/2021 at 18:04, tallthinkev said:

I've just completed a date run of Gillick head sov' s. Only ten coins, a nice little set. You could do worse 

It is a great run to collect.  Because of the good supply of Gillicks, it’s not to hard or expensive to trade them out for better examples and end up with a very nice set in a few years (less if you are enthusiastic!)

[MonkeysUncle]

On 15/11/2021 at 21:04, LawrenceChard said:

I didn't realise Marks and Spencer had started selling coins! 😎

Our local M&S is on Victoria Road, so I should have suspected.

I find the M&S coins to be better value for money than RM, less likely to be scratched or bashed and also less likely to break my teeth on!

 

 

[Foster88]

@Divmad

My advice would be to buy sovereigns as close to spot that you can.

In order of preference I’d buy in this order:

1st: Joint 1st Victoria Shield obverse sovereigns.

1st: Joint 1st George V branch mint sovereigns, Canada, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and South Africa.

2nd: Gillick sovereigns, 1957-1968.

3rd: 2022 sovereign both proof and bullion, also 2002 and 2012.

The above is just my opinion of course but particularly George V branch mint sovereigns are somewhat overlooked.

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the above.

If I was just starting out right now I’d buy as many 2022 bullion sovereigns as I could afford.

[chrisdobb]

Why 2022 bullion sovs what is the attraction in them I wonder?

[MJCOIN]

11 minutes ago, chrisdobb said:

Why 2022 bullion sovs what is the attraction in them I wonder?

Unique design plus possibly the last one under the monarch.

[Divmad]

2 hours ago, MJCOIN said:

Unique design plus possibly the last one under the monarch.

Will the bullion version initially sell at a small premium to spot, like all other modern sovereign yearly issues?