Gold sovereign old colour (silver mix) vs new colour (copper mix)

[Britannia47]

Different alloys - Different Colours:

Top left.  1979 Isle of Man ‘YELLOW’ Sovereign - Alloy, Copper & Silver

Middle. 2017 RM ‘RED’ Sovereign - Alloy, Copper

Top right. Australian ‘GREEN’ Sovereign - Alloy, Silver 

Bottom left. RM Queens Beast 9999 GOLD

Plus Copper plated steel One Penny!

Take your Pick 🤩

[SidS]

The sovereign's the worst, at least the penny knows what it is.

[CazLikesCoins]

20 minutes ago, SidS said:

The sovereign's the worst, at least the penny knows what it is.

Don't judge a book by its cover lol. That little sovereign will outlast fiat, most people on this forum, and still be shining in coppery goodness when Musk's Termi-bots are ransacking the planet while we hide in potting sheds huddling around candles. 🤣 

[Nowhereman]

1 hour ago, modofantasma said:

It could still be a financial reason.... Whilst they'd only need a couple of parts silver and could still include mostly copper in the non gold portion, maybe they think rose gold or whatever these recent ones are are the future...

Perhaps they feel a need to make the sovs different enough from other bullion coins like their own Britannia to be able to shift those at higher premiums...

Quite a lot of other possibilities too.

Haven't got many photos to hand but here's one from a recent delivery... A random spread of various years. The older ones are definitely my preference

The point of the sovereign was always to be a globally recognisable gold coin and to me 3 of those don't satisfy that primal desire that yellow gold can inspire. Even if I saw it put on a XRF scanner I would still be reluctant to accept it as I know I would have to convince the next person that it really is gold, honest guv. 

My 9ct bracelets and necklaces have a lovely and globally recognisable colour. Why not the new , almost pure coins that were originally made for global trade.

[CazLikesCoins]

5 minutes ago, Nowhereman said:

The point of the sovereign was always to be a globally recognisable gold coin and to me 3 of those don't satisfy that primal desire that yellow gold can inspire. Even if I saw it put on a XRF scanner I would still be reluctant to accept it as I know I would have to convince the next person that it really is gold, honest guv. 

My 9ct bracelets and necklaces have a lovely and globally recognisable colour. Why not the new , almost pure coins that were originally made for global trade.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 'n all that ...

Charlie 2022 mem sov ...

[Nowhereman]

4 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 'n all that ...

Charlie 2022 mem sov ...

That is a rare beauty alright and to me it ticks the gold box. I'm not sure if it's the lighting or your camera but when I took a photo (on my beaten up phone) of my bullion jubilee sovereign next to some Gillicks it didnt look half that good and it doesn't to the eye when in my hand either. Maybe you could send me that coin so I can test my theory, purely in the interest of science,  obviously 😉

[CazLikesCoins]

33 minutes ago, Nowhereman said:

That is a rare beauty alright and to me it ticks the gold box. I'm not sure if it's the lighting or your camera but when I took a photo (on my beaten up phone) of my bullion jubilee sovereign next to some Gillicks it didnt look half that good and it doesn't to the eye when in my hand either. Maybe you could send me that coin so I can test my theory, purely in the interest of science,  obviously 😉

Oh the Charlie is very coppery in real life lol. I took a dozen pictures and used the one single golden one lol. I think the sunlight caught it at the right angle that time haha. 

I don't really care what colour sovereigns are tbh. They could be bright blue if they held their value. It's all an illusion anyway, a bit of gold dug up and formed into a coin because somewhere sometime a bunch of people decided that gold would be valuable? If they'd been in a different mood on the day we might all be collecting fossilised cow turds by now instead of gold lol.

If I remember I flogged that coin to @Becca so its long gone. 

Edited April 8, 2023 by CazLikesCoins

[SidS]

Hey keep your hands off of my antique coprolite collection.

Edited to add: Imagine selling such on eBay, you really could put that you're selling a load of c**p.

Edited April 8, 2023 by SidS

[Nowhereman]

15 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

Oh the Charlie is very coppery in real life lol. I took a dozen pictures and used the one single golden one lol. I think the sunlight caught it at the right angle that time haha. 

I don't really care what colour sovereigns are tbh. They could be bright blue if they held their value. It's all an illusion anyway, a bit of gold dug up and formed into a coin because somewhere sometime a bunch of people decided that gold would be valuable? If they'd been in a different mood on the day we might all be collecting fossilised cow turds by now instead of gold lol.

I really have to disagree, these days we like to talk about the industrial value of PM's to justify their worth in todays commodified landscape. But the truth is gold and silver have been valued above all elements for thousands of years for a reason. They are both soft and pretty useless metals for any practical use where as iron was so hard-wearing and useful. 

Rarity was a major factor in its ultimate value but the X factor for gold has always been the look. You could put a gold nugget next to a fossilised cow Turd and only one will attract you. It's the difference between looking at an attractive  (insert sex of choice 🤦‍♂️) human and a shaven ape.

[Nowhereman]

8 minutes ago, SidS said:

Hey keep your hands off of my antique coprolite collection.

So you can polish a Turd.🤣

[CazLikesCoins]

1 hour ago, SidS said:

Hey keep your hands off of my antique coprolite collection.

Edited to add: Imagine selling such on eBay, you really could put that you're selling a load of c**p.

I imagine celebrity turds could be a thing.

 

... annnnd that's about as far as I'm going with that ... 😆

1 hour ago, Nowhereman said:

I really have to disagree, these days we like to talk about the industrial value of PM's to justify their worth in todays commodified landscape. But the truth is gold and silver have been valued above all elements for thousands of years for a reason. They are both soft and pretty useless metals for any practical use where as iron was so hard-wearing and useful. 

Rarity was a major factor in its ultimate value but the X factor for gold has always been the look. You could put a gold nugget next to a fossilised cow Turd and only one will attract you. It's the difference between looking at an attractive  (insert sex of choice 🤦‍♂️) human and a shaven ape.

Oh I don't know, I find shaven apes very attractive.  

[SidS]

3 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

I imagine celebrity turds could be a thing.

 

... annnnd that's about as far as I'm going with that ... 😆

 

William Shatner sold his kidney stones to a Las Vegas casino, so I'm sure he wouldn't rule it out. It brings a whole new meaning to captain's log.

[Leo1]

Same coin different lighting

[CANV]

To be fair you can argue that the sovereign recipe should never have been changed .  Are the gillicks the same make up as queen /vic ones and earlier ?

[Nowhereman]

5 hours ago, Leo1 said:

Same coin different lighting

That's mental,  how did you make it appear so yellow?

[Nowhereman]

59 minutes ago, CANV said:

To be fair you can argue that the sovereign recipe should never have been changed .  Are the gillicks the same make up as queen /vic ones and earlier ?

Looking into it it seems they have always been tinkering with the alloy recipie through the years and at different mints. I'm just gutted the one that is used currently looks so awful and un-gold like in my opinion. 

[SeverinDigsSovereigns]

Personally I don't mind the rosy new sovereigns. Krugs are quite rosy, and I like them. It's the shiny finish of IRB and subsequent issues that make them look strange. If bullion sovereigns return the satin finish of Machin and older sovereigns perhaps they might become much more desirable. This is not to say they are undesirable as they are now—gold is always desirable and I crave for it. But I get that they're trying to sell more Britannias and if you have two product lines for the same purpose there might be direct competition. I don't know how the yanks manage both eagles and buffalos, maybe there's just a bigger market.

[Britannia47]

10 hours ago, SeverinDigsSovereigns said:

Personally I don't mind the rosy new sovereigns. Krugs are quite rosy, and I like them. It's the shiny finish of IRB and subsequent issues that make them look strange. If bullion sovereigns return the satin finish of Machin and older sovereigns perhaps they might become much more desirable. This is not to say they are undesirable as they are now—gold is always desirable and I crave for it. But I get that they're trying to sell more Britannias and if you have two product lines for the same purpose there might be direct competition. I don't know how the yanks manage both eagles and buffalos, maybe there's just a bigger market.

You may have hit the nail on the head with the description ‘rosy’. I believe without any evidence that the RM wants to keep the 22ct Sovereign separate, colour wise, from the 9999 coins, by targeting a different market. ‘Rose’ gold (a jewellery term) may be more appealing to the general public who are not particularly interested in previous ‘gold’ numismatic versions. Their  advertising shows the Sovereign as ‘Pink’ although in reality, it’s not that bad. So that’s part of the reason the RM will not return to a Yellow gold alloy. It’s about choice, not so much about competition between 2 different brands.

In the U.S. the Eagles and Buffalo’s are equally popular but also different. I have both, and of course Sovereigns and Brits over here. There’s room for both. It’s all about preference.  Krugerrands use the same alloy (All copper) as our sovereigns, but the Eagle has about 2 or 3% silver in the mix which makes it more attractive…..😃

[Britannia47]

11 hours ago, SeverinDigsSovereigns said:

Personally I don't mind the rosy new sovereigns. Krugs are quite rosy, and I like them. It's the shiny finish of IRB and subsequent issues that make them look strange. If bullion sovereigns return the satin finish of Machin and older sovereigns perhaps they might become much more desirable. This is not to say they are undesirable as they are now—gold is always desirable and I crave for it. But I get that they're trying to sell more Britannias and if you have two product lines for the same purpose there might be direct competition. I don't know how the yanks manage both eagles and buffalos, maybe there's just a bigger market.

Thought you might like these….!

[SidS]

21 minutes ago, Britannia47 said:

Their  advertising shows the Sovereign as ‘Pink’ although in reality, it’s not that bad. So that’s part of the reason the RM will not return to a Yellow gold alloy. It’s about choice, not so much about competition between 2 different brands.😃

Which if true is a shame, as the Brits aren't really coins, more rounds. Yet the historic 'coin' has to make the change.

I saw some of the 2022 jubilee sovereigns in the flesh back before Xmas. I thought they looked hideous. Its not the design, I can't get past the colour and the awful super shiny look. I'd never buy one.

Edited April 9, 2023 by SidS

[Britannia47]

7 hours ago, SidS said:

Which if true is a shame, as the Brits aren't really coins, more rounds. Yet the historic 'coin' has to make the change.

I saw some of the 2022 jubilee sovereigns in the flesh back before Xmas. I thought they looked hideous. Its not the design, I can't get past the colour and the awful super shiny look. I'd never buy 

Indeed, you are a man of principle, not buying what you don’t like!  I agree it’s not just the colour, but the way those slippery little suckers shine back in your face - the 2012 bullion sovereign being a classic example. However if the RM stopped minting sovereigns tomorrow, it wouldn’t bother me either. There’s plenty left to collect of the right colour.

Having said that I will buy anything going! I will keep a good lookout for some numismatic Half-crowns for you instead! 😁😁😁

[SeverinDigsSovereigns]

5 hours ago, Britannia47 said:

Thought you might like these….!

How beautiful! I should hope to have a few in hand, but gold/oz is crazy at the moment.

[CazLikesCoins]

5 hours ago, SidS said:

Which if true is a shame, as the Brits aren't really coins, more rounds. Yet the historic 'coin' has to make the change.

I saw some of the 2022 jubilee sovereigns in the flesh back before Xmas. I thought they looked hideous. Its not the design, I can't get past the colour and the awful super shiny look. I'd never buy one.

New sovs. Look good to me.

Not 'new' sovs to me but from the current range of Royal Mint releases over the past couple ... I'll get 'me coat.

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by CazLikesCoins

[AgCoyote]

I've only bought modern sovereigns. I think they look fine and particularly enjoy how they contrast when laid with my gold kangaroos and britannias. I've never understood the pink coin bit. It's brown with golden accents. The St. George design is perfect in all ways. 

Having said that, I'm completely open to the idea that I could be gravely mistaken in preferring the modern sovereign to a more silver alloyed coin. It could be my preference is simply for what is new over coins that have some wear and tear. I have to say the photo with the Eagle/Buffalo/Kruggerrand that the Eagle is clearly a more appealing color, and one that is obviously more gold. I would love to see what a newly minted 91.67 gold/ 4.33 copper/ 4 silver sovereign would look like.

[SidS]

10 minutes ago, AgCoyote said:

I would love to see what a newly minted 91.67 gold/ 4.33 copper/ 4 silver sovereign would look like.

The closest you'll get is the two-tone gold £2 coin. The centre is yellow gold, the outer ring is rose gold.

12 hours ago, CazLikesCoins said:

 

Is it just the lighting, or does the Charles coin really look more yellow?