Latest auction prices for 1989 Proof Sovereign

[JohnV66]

Is anyone else seeing ludicrous prices for 1989 proof sovereigns?

This one on Wotton Auction via Salesroom went for £2,232 (including 27.54% auction fees) just this afternoon.

I really don't get it. Who would pay that much for a raw coin? Are they insane or poorly informed?

[Britannia47]

Yes, sounds like someone willing to pay over the odds. The RM are asking £ 2250 for a NGC graded 69, and £2425 for a ‘raw’ but not in stock! Seems to be a sought after coin and oddly enough can be more expensive than the double sovereign. Not long ago it was about £1500 I think. Perhaps it’s just supply and demand, and desperation to add to one’s collection?……

[JohnV66]

Most auctions on Ebay tend to settle between £1200 - 1400. Same with the 2012. I certainly don't see anything even approaching 2 grand. It's nuts.

 

 

[dicker]

Paying that sort of money, you are well on your way to buying a gold hammered coin in decent condition.   I know which one I would have!

[GoldDiggerDave]

Or just get one of these, at least they have the original legend and shield of arms. 

[harrygill111]

The estimate is almost as bonkers as the selling price on that one 

Edited April 5, 2022 by harrygill111

[jultorsk]

Yes that's certainly too much, especially for a seemingly impaired proof. 😬

I remember seeing also suspected fake 1989 sovs sometime earlier, maybe it was on fakebook. Can't be too careful these days.

 

[JohnV66]

So the 2012 proof sovereign's are going for something more realistic according to the latest auction results as of today. Arguably rarer than the 1989.

Including auction fees, this one went for £1,011. Which is about what I'd expect.

 

[sovereignsteve]

4 minutes ago, JohnV66 said:

Arguably rarer than the 1989

Not even arguably, definitely so.

However, they are pug ugly compared to a 1989 and not as popular as their relative prices attest.

Edit: Also to be borne in mind, the 2012 exists in (the very common) bullion form. A collector who wants a 1989 must buy a proof.

Edited April 7, 2022 by sovereignsteve

[JohnV66]

When I'd started collecting proofs 10 years ago, I had exactly the same thought and ignored the 2012. I just figured "umm, I don't particularly like this design."

Now I deeply regret not picking one up whilst they were around £500. Live and learn, I guess.

[sovereignsteve]

57 minutes ago, JohnV66 said:

When I'd started collecting proofs 10 years ago, I had exactly the same thought and ignored the 2012. I just figured "umm, I don't particularly like this design."

Now I deeply regret not picking one up whilst they were around £500. Live and learn, I guess.

I got my first one for 450 then sold it, got another for about 500 and sold that too, all before prices really started rising. I made good money but not as much as i would have made if i'd held.

[Britannia47]

I agree the 1989 design by Bernard Sindal is a must.  There's something interesting on both sides! I rather like Paul Days' 2012 design but not as bullion. The all-over shiny surface makes it difficult to discern the detail, so I imagine the proof version is easier on the eye. My first proof sovereign was in 1997 at £149 which seemed a lot of money then - ordinary sovereigns were going for about £50! As a collector/keeper for over 25years I have never sold a single gold coin! although I have procured a couple of 1/2sovs for TSF members. It seems inadvertently I have become a stacker/hoarder, so keeping gold for the medium/long term has worked for me should I sell. Anyway couple of photos as always to finish off🙂

 

[JohnV66]

Proofs for £149 and circulated sovereign's for £50!!!! I mean wow. I had no idea that's how low it was back in 90's.

 

These are my double and half '89's. I think I paid just over £600 for the double and £180 for the half which seems comical by today's prices.

 

[JohnV66]

Mine have just come back from Numi with their NGC grades.

 

[JohnV66]

For those who appreciate hammered coinage compared to extortionate pricing of modern proofs.

I'm well pleased with this grading outcome.  AU58 for a 417 year-old Unite is more than I'd expected.

[xthomasx]

I bought a 1989 three-coin set for some 1600€ at an auction around 2015. Very happy about it when seeing today's price level... 

[JohnV66]

You snagged a fantastic bargain. A recent 1989 3-coin set sold for £3,422 / EUR 4080 on Ebay 2 days ago. Lots of bidding.

[BiigT]

I got a PF70 1989 sov for £1850 a few months ago. I thought it was about the right price, but wouldn't have paid anymore for it. 

[JohnV66]

Not many 89's achieve PF70 for some reason, so I can understand the premium. I had both of my double & half coins conserved by NCS but only the half managed PF70. I'm still pleased with PF69 on the double as I've seen many rolling around at PF66 or 67. Perhaps too many folks couldn't resist the urge to handle & clean them for the last 33 years.

[sovereignsteve]

44 minutes ago, JohnV66 said:

Not many 89's achieve PF70 for some reason, so I can understand the premium. I had both of my double & half coins conserved by NCS but only the half managed PF70. I'm still pleased with PF69 on the double as I've seen many rolling around at PF66 or 67. Perhaps too many folks couldn't resist the urge to handle & clean them for the last 33 years.

It's strange the way it goes sometimes, I've had great success at NGC with fulls and doubles but for some reason, I can't get a PF70 half for love nor money🤔

[JohnV66]

Price madness continues with Lockdales latest auction as of today 21st May. Realised prices including auction fees @ 27.54%:

1980 proof sovereign  £459

1995 proof sovereign  £765    (!!!??? just crazy)

1996 proof sovereign  £663   (huh??!!)

1997 proof sovereign   £714   (also nutty)

1998 proof sovereign  £510

1999 proof sovereign  £612   (say what!!??)

 

Live auction prices are so out of touch with peer-to-peer or Ebay realised prices. Clearly someone's willing to pay these exaggerated amounts but confused as to why. Case in point, I998 proofs have been selling recently on Ebay for £400 - £450. I should know, I bought one and quality was perfectly fine. I personally own the 1980, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998 & 1999 proofs and have never valued them anywhere near those quotes.

Bear in mind, most of these big auction houses also charge £25 - £40 for P&P on top. Sometimes you get lucky (very rare) when they charge just £8 R.M. SD. That 1995 proof will probably cost someone £800 in total.

[MJCOIN]

I had most of those in my "watch list" and was surprised when I checked just now at the prices achieved.

Whilst I have bought coins from Ebay (and never had a problem with them) I tend to steer clear where possible.  Too many sharks and horror stories put me off.  Also most of the photos for Ebay listings are terrible and it's hard to determine the quality before I buy.  For my own personal reasons I am buying proof sovereigns for grading and have had (mostly) great success by buying from trusted dealers at reasonable prices.  Trouble is, those 1990 era sovereigns don't come up for sale very often and when they do they are £600+ and that's ungraded.

Even so, I agree those prices achieved are bonkers.

Edited May 21, 2022 by MJCOIN

[JohnV66]

I'll accept the risk, so I've been picking up "raw" ungraded bargains on Ebay for the past 11 years. I've had two relatively poor proof sovs out of many.

One was a 2005 which was rather "milky" (many seem to suffer for some reason) so I'd sent it back and received a refund then bought another perfect example. In retrospect, that coin would've easily cleaned up nicely with NCS conservation but I wasn't aware of that service at the time. The other was heavily handled 1999.

A recent 1979 proof purchase a few months back had quite a few copper spots & a ton of dust but had potential. Mailed it to Numi for NCS conservation and it achieved PF70 from NGC. It looks fresh out of the Royal Mint. Imagine what was going on back in '79 economically - winter of discontent and mountains of uncollected rubbish but the mint still churned out 50,000. Who bought them in those wretched times? Gold did go on to peak in 1980 though.

Edited May 21, 2022 by JohnV66
facts

[JohnV66]

Prices achieved on latest Ebay auctions confirm absurdities revolving around "Live" auctions plus their grossly extortionate fees.

This is what I consider far more reasonable for today's final prices. Remarkably also include P&P - nothing added on top. 1998 @ £444 and 1997 @ £484. Certainly not 700+.

The only proofs that I've snagged at reasonable prices on the-saleroom/Live auctions was a 1981 sovereign (367) and a 2002 half (214). Britannia's are also still good value and are overlooked for now. I bought a 2011 1/4 proof for around 420 a few weeks ago. I've seen 2016, 2017, 2018's go for between 420 - 480 (incl. fees). Spot's around £370/quarter as of 28/05/22.

Edited June 15, 2022 by JohnV66
correction

[Britannia47]

9 hours ago, JohnV66 said:

Prices achieved on latest Ebay auctions confirm absurdities revolving around "Live" auctions plus their grossly extortionate fees.

This is what I consider far more reasonable for today's final prices. Remarkably also include P&P - nothing added on top. 1997 @ £444 and 1997 @ £484. Certainly not 700+.

The only proofs that I've snagged at reasonable prices on the-saleroom/Live auctions was a 1981 sovereign (380) and a 2002 half (200). Britannia's are also still good value and are overlooked for now. I bought a 2011 1/4 proof for around 420 a few weeks ago. I've seen 2016, 2017, 2018's go for between 420 - 480 (incl. fees). Spot's around £370/quarter as of 28/05/22.

The 1997 Proof was my very first sovereign bought in 1997 for the RM price of £149, which i thought was expensive at the time, compared to ordinary sovereigns at about £50 each! - so today £484 sounds good. I remember buying the 1989 proof set (4 coins) for £850. Leave it long enough and you could make money as well.😆