1913 (1918?) sovereign in auction - something odd going on?

[MJCOIN]

Described as a 1918 sovereign by the auction house but looks more like a 1913 date?  Also, there appears to be a letter "A" between the "1" and the "3", unless my eyes deceive me.

Auction lot here:- https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/8aa178f765910585f68ab69cb3632af1/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/antiques-collectables-gold-silver-hobby-craft/

 

[Silverlocks]

It is a 1913 date; as the date's quite small folks confuse 3 and 8 on that lettering all the time.  Although the photo's not great there's nothing that stands out to indicate it's a forgery (poor definition in the device or blobby looking teeth on the rim are the usual suspects).  It is in good condition - goodEF to aboutUNC - but it's not uncommon to find Georges in that condition as they were taken out of circulation during WWI and the mintage for that year was very large.  Even in this condition it's worth about 5% over spot, but no doubt it will go for much more than that by the time you include buyer's fees.  As there's no visible dirt, the coin has probably been in an ultrasound cleaner at some point.

I think it's most likely that the mark between the 1 and 3 is just a contact mark.  If it's a middle-eastern replica the maker's mark is more likely to be on George's neck on the obverse, for example -

Edited March 23, 2023 by Silverlocks

[MBTPSilver]

Definitely something odd between the 1 - 3 that I've not seen before but it could just be an unfortunate mark/dent without seeing high-res photos. It's certainly a 13 though so it's mis-listed.