Is this a Sydney mint mark

[Smiler999]

As title, wondering is this an S above the date or part of the design, my eyes play tricks at 5x magnification lol

Edited September 23, 2023 by Smiler999
Grammar

[James32]

It's certainly in the right area, highly possible with some wear.

[Smiler999]

This is at a different angle 

[James32]

@Orpster @modofantasma @Silverlocks @ZRPMs @dicker

[Smiler999]

It's just bullion and probably no great value I'm just bored lol 

[Silverlocks]

Yes, most likely it is.  Here are another couple of coins with Sydney mint marks.

 

[Smiler999]

5 minutes ago, Silverlocks said:

Yes, most likely it is.  Here are another couple of coins with Sydney mint marks.

 

Thank you for that, my first coin with a mint mark 😆 

[Silverlocks]

8 minutes ago, Smiler999 said:

Thank you for that, my first coin with a mint mark 😆 

They're not uncommon.  Most of my Victorian sovs are from Melbourne or Sydney, and I've got Oz and SA Eds and Georges as well..

Edited September 23, 2023 by Silverlocks

[Orpster]

29 minutes ago, James32 said:

@Orpster @modofantasma @Silverlocks @ZRPMs @dicker

Yes it is

[dicker]

Agreed!  Definitely S!

[modofantasma]

4 hours ago, Smiler999 said:

As title, wondering is this an S above the date or part of the design, my eyes play tricks at 5x magnification lol

It is yes as a few have mentioned. What you can do is check the date and mint mark combination exist too. There are a few charts online and in books 👌🏽

[ZRPMs]

I would also say that this is a Sydney mint mark. You'll have to keep a look out for the other mint marks now.

[Sovhead]

7 hours ago, Smiler999 said:

This is at a different angle 

Definitely 

[modofantasma]

15 hours ago, Smiler999 said:

As title, wondering is this an S above the date or part of the design, my eyes play tricks at 5x magnification lol

https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/info/sovereign-mintages#GeorgeV

 

[Smiler999]

1 hour ago, modofantasma said:

https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/info/sovereign-mintages#GeorgeV

 

Definitely not rare then 😂 thanks though 

[modofantasma]

12 minutes ago, Smiler999 said:

Definitely not rare then 😂 thanks though 

Maybe not though it won't do any harm in a nice stack of bullion sovs 👌🏽 

[Silverlocks]

6 hours ago, Smiler999 said:

Definitely not rare then 😂 thanks though 

No, most sovereigns were made in the branch mints overall.  About half of all sovereigns ever produced were actually made in Australia.  Pretty much everything between 1918 and 1932 was made outside London with the exception of a small mintage in 1925, mostly either Australia or South Africa with smaller mintages in India in 1918 and Canada from 1909-1919.  They even re-struck the 1925s for a few years around 1950 in London because they couldn't be 4rsed making new dies.

Although sovereigns were officially withdrawn from circulation in 1914, the branch mints continued to produce them in large numbers between the end of WWI and 1932 as they were in demand as bullion.  Something like half of all sovs minted were produced after 1918 - roughly the same amount as had been minted for circulation between 1817 and the beginning of WWI.

Sovereigns had become popular as gold bullion - one could say perhaps the original retail bullion coin - predating the Krugerrand by about a century.  They were particularly popular in the Middle East, India and parts of Asia as they were trusted.  In these regions they were used for savings (interest-bearing accounts are usury and therefore haram under sharia law), large transactions, and gifts or other transactions such as dowries.  Sovereigns were considered reliable - forgery was policed anywhere the British Empire had jurisdiction and the weight and gold content were very consistent.  There was a small allowance (about 60 milligrams) for wear, at which point they would be taken out of circulation and replaced by the Bank of England.   If you had some sovereigns, you knew how much gold you had to about 2-3 decimal places.

During the gold rushes of the 19th century in Australia, Chinese and Indian buyers would travel to the gold fields and buy gold from the miners, then go to the mints and get it refined and minted into sovereigns, which they would send back home to flog as bullion.

The sovereign of the 1816 coinage act was a major innovation in minting quality when it came out, and it caused something of a sea change in minting standards and technology.  The Royal Mint was a major innovator and became world famous for its quality control.   Today it is . . . world famous for its quality control.

Edited September 24, 2023 by Silverlocks

[Britannia47]

@Smiler999

Have also found it’s sometimes difficult to clearly identify the ‘s’ embedded in the ground, compared with the P or M.

Photo of a small collection of  15 Australia mint Sovs.  M=5, P=3, and the rest = S. The 2 Canadians 1911 are there by mistake!….

[Smiler999]

8 hours ago, modofantasma said:

Maybe not though it won't do any harm in a nice stack of bullion sovs 👌🏽 

I actually stack half's more than fulls but no mint marks on any of them unfortunately lol

[modofantasma]

9 minutes ago, Smiler999 said:

I actually stack half's more than fulls but no mint marks on any of them unfortunately lol

Some quite low mintages amongst the halves actually. I haven't many halves but still keep my eye out for them 

[Smiler999]

17 minutes ago, modofantasma said:

Some quite low mintages amongst the halves actually. I haven't many halves but still keep my eye out for them 

I know I follow you on YouTube lol