Shield Sovereigns

[Midasfrog]

These lions have brushed their teeth 😁

[Midasfrog]

Or a PR66 Deep Cameo Half Sovereign Proof 

[Midasfrog]

This MS 66 is really nice 

[SidS]

4 hours ago, Midasfrog said:

This MS 66 is really nice

 

I like this one the best!

I prefer circ strikes as I like the design and the field to have the same tone. A much more natural appearance than the silhouette look of proofs.

Shame Vicky wasn't as pretty in real life. Wyon certainly did her a credit.

[dicker]

8 hours ago, Midasfrog said:

This MS 66 is really nice 

That is a zinger of a Sov!

[dicker]

8 hours ago, Midasfrog said:

These lions have brushed their teeth 😁

I am going to write up a little bit of research I have done on the early Vic Sovs, but in the mean time, you will note the first N and second I in Britanniarum have missing serifs.

The N is very curious as it happens in a range of early non proof and proof Vic Sovs but is not consistent across years…..

[Allgoldcoins]

On 30/03/2023 at 20:11, GoldDiggerDave said:

Good quality shields are getting harder to come by, there’s loads in the range  gF - VF around but to truly get EF and gEF (not just some joker listing a fine as a EF) is becoming harder and deeper pockets are needed to get them. 

Also think there’s more love and appreciation for them, just like the up-swing we have seen with the Gillicks. 

 

There is no doubt that getting hold of high grade (MS60+) has got more and more difficult over the past decade, and the prices for the best shields are on the rise. Its also a similar story for the jubilee head sovereign.

I think we will only see the traditional market get stronger as collectors turn their backs on the Royal Mint's flooding of the modern market. 

[GoldDiggerDave]

8 minutes ago, Allgoldcoins said:

There is no doubt that getting hold of high grade (MS60+) has got more and more difficult over the past decade, and the prices for the best shields are on the rise. Its also a similar story for the jubilee head sovereign.

I think we will only see the traditional market get stronger as collectors turn their backs on the Royal Mint's flooding of the modern market. 

I do think there is room for both ends of the market, without a doubt we have all benefited with the new blood coining into the market that RM pull in with the new commemoratives. 
 

The new stuff dragged me into the market, and you learn to appreciate the more numismatic sovereigns as you progress and refine your taste. 

[Allgoldcoins]

41 minutes ago, GoldDiggerDave said:

I do think there is room for both ends of the market, without a doubt we have all benefited with the new blood coining into the market that RM pull in with the new commemoratives. 
 

The new stuff dragged me into the market, and you learn to appreciate the more numismatic sovereigns as you progress and refine your taste. 

I think RM have worked that out and now have a new coin release almost daily, they need to slow the issues down a little.

I started in 2002 with 5 x shield sovereigns I bought for £70 each, if anyone still has them at that price I am happy to take 5 more 😀

[GoldDiggerDave]

11 hours ago, Allgoldcoins said:

I think RM have worked that out and now have a new coin release almost daily, they need to slow the issues down a little.

I started in 2002 with 5 x shield sovereigns I bought for £70 each, if anyone still has them at that price I am happy to take 5 more 😀

We had the Jubilee and it was going to be QEII last one and sadly she passed away and with a new monarch even none coin collectors were going to pile into the market and you really can't blame the RM for producing coins for the occasion.  No one is making any of us buy them,  it can be exhausting at times suppose we all have to decide what we are buying and which ones we are giving a miss.  I'm surprised we have not yet had a Spice Girls music legends.  2023 is going to be a very busy year for coins......I'm sure you will do well on the back of it. 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by GoldDiggerDave

[SidS]

12 hours ago, Allgoldcoins said:

Its also a similar story for the jubilee head sovereign.

Which is sad as jubilees have always been the cheapest Victorian sovereign.

 I've always found the old heads overpriced - which is why I never had more than one of those. I was never prepared to pay the premium when I could get a shield or a guinea or a young head G&D.

[SidS]

On 31/03/2023 at 14:11, SidS said:

That's what they look like when you take the foil off. 😁

[CazLikesCoins]

On 31/03/2023 at 11:22, Britannia47 said:

I think you are confusing the farthing with the nickel brass 3d bit, known as the ‘thrup-knee bit’, worth 3 old pence. The portcullis certainly looks like a shield. The old farthings from 1860 were made of bronze, and were lighter/smaller. The obverse was by L.C. Wyon, similar to the ‘Australia’ Sovereign. Hope that’s not too much information!…….😺

Haha I've spent decades thinking ‘thrup-knee bit’ coins were farthings! 🤭 My reality is crumbling 🤪 

[SidS]

1 hour ago, CazLikesCoins said:

Haha I've spent decades thinking ‘thrup-knee bit’ coins were farthings! 🤭 My reality is crumbling 🤪 

Threepenny bit - shortened to 'thrup'ney' or 'threp'ney'.

[artalien]

6 minutes ago, SidS said:

'thrup'ney' or 'threp'ney'

I found a 10 bob note when I was a kid. Handed it in got a reward 👍

[Britannia47]

7 hours ago, artalien said:

I found a 10 bob note when I was a kid. Handed it in got a reward 👍

 

7 hours ago, SidS said:

Threepenny bit - shortened to 'thrup'ney' or 'threp'ney'.

Or even ‘ thrip’nee’ if you insist Sid!  Come back L.C.😀

Here’s something for both of you, with a total sum of 12 shillings & 9 pence (12s -9d)

L.K. O’Brien 1955 - 1962 as Chief Cashier

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Britannia47

[RDHC]

1 hour ago, Britannia47 said:

 

Or even ‘ thrip’nee’ if you insist Sid!  Come back L.C.😀

Here’s something for both of you, with a total sum of 12 shillings & 9 pence (12s -9d)

 

Well said re. L.C. He can't still be skiing, can he? Perhaps he was understandably miffed by some ill-judged and unfair comments made about Chards on this forum, which I seem to recall noticing a little while back. 

And that lovely note and coins certainly take me back because I was a child of the 1950s (though L.K. O'Brien was not, I think, Chief Cashier in that decade). Nearly all of the decades since have been rubbish- just my opinion. 

[Midasfrog]

@dicker Saw this 1853 shield posted on another group that had been picked up from auction for £2600 including fees and is being sent off for grading.

[dicker]

Just now, Midasfrog said:

@dicker Saw this 1853 shield posted on another group that had been picked up from auction for £2600 including fees and is being sent off for grading.

That is VERY nice.  Even UNC coins I have seen going for 1.5k can’t hold a candle to this beauty. 

I wonder where this has been since being minted!

[modofantasma]

10 minutes ago, Midasfrog said:

 Saw this 1853 shield posted on another group that had been picked up from auction for £2600 including fees and is being sent off for grading

Stunning that one. The 5 in the date looks quite skinny or is it just me 🧐

[sovereignsteve]

On 31/03/2023 at 23:12, Midasfrog said:

Or a PR66 Deep Cameo Half Sovereign Proof 

There really is very little to rival the detail on a good quality proof Jubilee Head obverse.

[Sovhead]

On 30/03/2023 at 20:00, dicker said:

I have been collecting Sovs for some time and as some of you known, I like Victoria Shields.

In general terms would fellow collectors agree that Shields have appreciated significantly over the last couple of years  (irrespective of gold price)?

I think they have, but am not sure why.

Thoughts?

Best

Dicker

I’ve just looked back on bullion shields I was buying circa 9/21 I was getting them regularly for circa £345…no chance of getting any for that price now.

It’s strange…it’s almost as if everyone at the same time cottoned on to buy shields and not just any Sov.

 

[dicker]

A very very nice coin, no doubt about it. 

Are they worth the current premium?  I still buy very nice (MS) examples.  
 

[Sovhead]

On 06/04/2023 at 18:57, Midasfrog said:

@dicker Saw this 1853 shield posted on another group that had been picked up from auction for £2600 including fees and is being sent off for grading.

It’s the nicest Victorian Sov I’ve seen yet.

Gorgeous.

[Sovhead]

On 06/04/2023 at 18:57, Midasfrog said:

@dicker Saw this 1853 shield posted on another group that had been picked up from auction for £2600 including fees and is being sent off for grading.

Was there ever an update as to what it graded?

I reckon that’s a 66 or better.