Help Identifying A 1920 Sovereign Mintmark

[Organics]

Hi All 👋

Picked this up today but for the life of me I can not make out the mint. It’s supposed to only be minted in Sydney, Perth or Melbourne, but I can’t see a clear letter. It does seem to be a worn S under different angles but my eyes could be deceiving me, or being EXTREMELY hopeful lol 😂. Off course there could be a chance it’s dodgy and I’ll have to check it out later on my Sigma and scales. I’m by no means an expert on Sovereigns, so any help would be welcome. Please see the pictures. 
 

 

Edited February 2 by Organics

[Britannia47]

https://goldsovereigns.co.uk/1920sovereign.html
 

This info.on Chards might help. I’ve tried to enhance your image a bit, but can’t see any definitive mint mark. To me both sides seem to have been deliberately ‘Dinged’ in a well spaced out pattern. You may have to accept that this could be a fake….

 

[Organics]

2 minutes ago, Britannia47 said:

https://goldsovereigns.co.uk/1920sovereign.html
 

This info.on Chards might help. I’ve tried to enhance your image a bit, but can’t see any definitive mint mark. To me both sides seem to have been deliberately ‘Dinged’ in a well spaced out pattern. You may have to accept that this could be a fake….

 

I have thought that it could be a fake or at least a real sovereign where someone has stamped out the P for example. I’ll check it out now in terms of density and gold content. Thanks 🙏 

[Organics]

46 minutes ago, Britannia47 said:

https://goldsovereigns.co.uk/1920sovereign.html
 

This info.on Chards might help. I’ve tried to enhance your image a bit, but can’t see any definitive mint mark. To me both sides seem to have been deliberately ‘Dinged’ in a well spaced out pattern. You may have to accept that this could be a fake….

 

So all tests done and other than it weighing 7.85g (which can sometimes happen), all checks out. So I’m guessing it’s just the letter that may have been tampered with. Who knows 🤷‍♂️

[Sovhead]

It doesn’t look like a mint mark to me but must have one and for its condition that weight worries me.

Edited February 2 by Sovhead

[Booky586]

It could be the angle of the lighting but the number 0 in the date doesn't look quite right. Your coin above, a Perth mint coin below:

[Britannia47]

36 minutes ago, Organics said:

So all tests done and other than it weighing 7.85g (which can sometimes happen), all checks out. So I’m guessing it’s just the letter that may have been tampered with. Who knows 🤷‍♂️

Just weighed 7 of my KGV Sovereigns -  which ranged from 7.97 to 7.99 thus an average of 7.98 on calibrated scales! On second thoughts 7.85 may be a bit low…..

[Organics]

Thanks for all the responses and help as always 🙏. I love sovereigns. It’s just a bit of a minefield and you need a fair amount of knowledge to understand what you’re buying. Learning all the time though 👍. Guess this is going back tomorrow 😟

[pricha]

2 minutes ago, Organics said:

Thanks for all the responses and help as always 🙏. I love sovereigns. It’s just a bit of a minefield and you need a fair amount of knowledge to understand what you’re buying. Learning all the time though 👍. Guess this is going back tomorrow 😟

I would have though it best to keep it. As you are learning this is something to keep going back  and to compare other coins 

[Organics]

Just now, pricha said:

I would have though it best to keep it. As you are learning this is something to keep going back  and to compare other coins 

Yes. That would be nice to do, but can’t really afford to do 🙏

[Spyder]

Would agree. 100% fake. Too light for wear shown. Makes me believe this to be less than 22ct and closer to 19-20ct. 

Can not see it passing the Sigma Test for 22ct

[iacabu]

1 hour ago, Booky586 said:

It could be the angle of the lighting but the number 0 in the date doesn't look quite right. Your coin above, a Perth mint coin below:

I noticed this, more obvious in this pic

 

[Organics]

41 minutes ago, Spyder said:

Would agree. 100% fake. Too light for wear shown. Makes me believe this to be less than 22ct and closer to 19-20ct. 

Can not see it passing the Sigma Test for 22ct

It did pass on my Sigma for 22kt. Either way it’s going back 🙏

[Organics]

46 minutes ago, Spyder said:

Would agree. 100% fake. Too light for wear shown. Makes me believe this to be less than 22ct and closer to 19-20ct. 

Can not see it passing the Sigma Test for 22ct

 

[Spyder]

Just now, Organics said:

 

At least you know it is 22ct now.   Is the coin the correct dimensions?  It just seems too much weight to have lost if the carat is correct

[Organics]

Just now, Spyder said:

At least you know it is 22ct now.   Is the coin the correct dimensions?  It just seems too much weight to have lost if the carat is correct

I have one of those antique brass scales and everything checks out. Diameter, weight and thickness. I have digital callipers too but once I do the Sigma, scale tests, earth magnet and ping test, I usually don’t find the need to use it. I have compared it to other sovereigns I have and yes the 0 in the date looks off but other than that it looks fine. It’s the lack of mint letter that bothers me the most. Who knows this could be a one off London mint specimen lol 😂 

[Sovhead]

2 minutes ago, Organics said:

I have one of those antique brass scales and everything checks out. Diameter, weight and thickness. I have digital callipers too but once I do the Sigma, scale tests, earth magnet and ping test, I usually don’t find the need to use it. I have compared it to other sovereigns I have and yes the 0 in the date looks off but other than that it looks fine. It’s the lack of mint letter that bothers me the most. Who knows this could be a one off London mint specimen lol 😂 

It needs to have an oz Mintmark and it doesn’t and the weight is off I’m pretty sure it’s a cast fake, the fields give it away as well.

The Sigma won’t decide anything as it might be a 22ct fake.

Edited February 2 by Sovhead

[Spyder]

Keep us updated.

Would be interested to know what the dealer said regarding the missing Mintmark and the weight. 

Was it a pickup or posted out to you? 

Edited February 2 by Spyder

[Organics]

3 minutes ago, Spyder said:

Keep us updated.

Would be interested to know what the dealer said regarding the missing Mintmark and the weight. 

Was it a pickup or posted out to you? 

Pick up. It’s my local coin shop. So he’ll have no problems taking it back. In all fairness he didn’t even check them. He received 55 sovereigns yesterday afternoon and put them aside for me to check this morning. 

[Orpster]

Seen one very similar recently, a 1922 with no mint mark

  

Weight OK

Tests well

Were it not for the missing mint mark, would you even give it a second glance 🤷‍♂️

[Sovhead]

2 minutes ago, Orpster said:

Seen one very similar recently, a 1922 with no mint mark

  

Weight OK

Tests well

Were it not for the missing mint mark, would you even give it a second glance 🤷‍♂️

Yep, they’re good.

See that thread you started on Sovs to watch out for shields/G&D it would be a good idea for us all to start a thread of years to look out for that are fake as well creating a database.

i know there’s the possibility of new ones anytime soon but worth a thread of the years we definitely know of.

[Petra]

Bit confused here, if there is no Australian mint mark why was it bought as an Australian minted coin and as the colour of the coin in the picture is off and the weight etc. is correct what is the issue? Even more so if it was bought from a shop and was in hand and looked at.

what am I missing?

[Sovhead]

5 minutes ago, Petra said:

Bit confused here, if there is no Australian mint mark why was it bought as an Australian minted coin and as the colour of the coin in the picture is off and the weight etc. is correct what is the issue? Even more so if it was bought from a shop and was in hand and looked at.

what am I missing?

Only Oz coins were minted in 1920 so it should have either an S, M or P Mintmark it has none and the weight, colour and fields are not right.

You aren’t missing anything it’s a fake 22ct gold coin IMO.

[Petra]

5 minutes ago, Sovhead said:

Only Oz coins were minted in 1920 so it should have either an S, M or P Mintmark it has none and the weight, colour and fields are not right.

You aren’t missing anything it’s a fake 22ct gold coin IMO.

🤔😮well done! Should have remembered that,  haven’t   read my Marsh book in a while!🤔😮 from the pictures though I can’t see a worn mint mark, just no mark.

[Sovhead]

9 minutes ago, Petra said:

🤔😮well done! Should have remembered that,  haven’t   read my Marsh book in a while!🤔😮 from the pictures though I can’t see a worn mint mark, just no mark.

I can’t see one either.