1887 Victoria Jubilee Head 11 Coin Proof Gold and Silver - Mintage Only 797 Sets

[LawrenceChard]

These 1887 Jubilee proof sets are rare than their mintage would suggest, and certainly so compared with a modern set with similar mintage:

There must be many thousands of "made up" sets of circulation strike coins, often in varying grades, around EF to Unc.

I / we get offered many of them every year, often from people who think, or hope, that they are proof sets.

The keen-eyed may notice that the £2 double sovereign does not match, and is not a proof, which gives a clue as to the fate of the original sets.

Over a period of time, for one reason or another, odd coins have been lost, and the owners have filled the empty space with non-proof replacements.

A few years ago, I spoke to someone who had spent a long time hunted for a replacement sixpence, because his was missing from his set.

Here is a photo of the obverses:

The box closed:

:

I guess that of the original mintage, perhaps fewer than half of them are still intact.

 

[GoodAsGold]

I have a tiny few 19th century gold coins in my collection including the 1887 proof half sov in an attractive PF64 grade. I love the coin more than my larger and more modern PF seventies. Whereas the higher denomination golds have the George and Dragon reverse, it’s nice to have something different on the reverse of the half sov, as depicted on the top right coin on your first photo Lawrence. Thank you.

[LawrenceChard]

6 hours ago, GoodAsGold said:

I have a tiny few 19th century gold coins in my collection including the 1887 proof half sov in an attractive PF64 grade. I love the coin more than my larger and more modern PF seventies. Whereas the higher denomination golds have the George and Dragon reverse, it’s nice to have something different on the reverse of the half sov, as depicted on the top right coin on your first photo Lawrence. Thank you.

Before posting the above, I checked TSF for "1887 proof", and found someone selling an 1887 proof sixpence, because he had got a better one.

We should have got the contact details for the person whose set was missing one of them.

Isn't it good to know you have a genuinely rare coin?