1920 Sydney mint Sovereign scare

A client popped into our office today with a strangest piece we ever saw. It's a rear 1920 gold sovereign but at first was unclear where it was minted. Recently one of them 1920 Sydney minted sovereigns but in proof was sold at Baldwins auction for around £720,000 (over a million US dollars). The guy said he's been to various coin dealers and many said it was S mark (Sydney), a well known dealer from Blackpool estimated is as a Perth mint (anything but P. much less in value).

(Click to enlarge)

Naturally, with a coin of such possible value he went to seek our expertise. We took a close up picture and here's what we saw (see the pic on the left). There is a barely recognizable SA (South African mint, Pretoria). But to the best of our knowledge they didn't start making these before 1923, so we were puzzled.

After closer look and much deliberation we came to conclusion that it's a nicely done fake due to certain give away signs. If you have a different opinion, please do post your comments, we'll be very interested to hear that.

The funny bit is that the guy has some very attractive offers on it but decided to keep it in case any better offer comes along. Best of luck!

If you unsure about any of your gold British coins please contact us and we'll do free valuation for you at our office here in London. We can also offer you the best price if you decide to sell your coins. Please contact us first before taking your coins elsewhere.

Modern Sovereign

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Royal Mint Court in 18th century

The year 1816 was a landmark for British coinage. The mint was moved from the Tower of London to a new site on Tower Hill and steam powered minting machinery built by Boulton and Watt replaced the old hand operated presses. Significantly, new coinage was produced with an intrinsic value substantially below the face value of each coin - the first official token coinage in the world.

Image courtesy oldukphotos.com

Gold Sovereign 1817

In 1817, after an absence of 213 years, sovereigns were minted to replace the guinea. The new coins, valued at 20 shillings (the same as the original rate of over three centuries earlier), were accompanied by half sovereign issues and pattern five & two pound pieces. All were minted to the 22 carat (91.6%) fineness standard previously used for the Guinea coins.

Alongside half sovereigns issued with the shield type reverse, Bendetto Pistrucci's famous St. George slaying the dragon design appears on the new sovereigns. Throughout most of the 19th century, the Shield and St. George reverse designs were interchanged on sovereign and half sovereign coins, in many years both designs appearing for the same denomination.

The discovery of large quantities of gold in the Australian colonies in the 1850's led to the establishment of the Sydney Branch of the Royal Mint in 1855. The first 'Sydney Mint' sovereigns and half sovereigns issued by this mint were unique in the history of the British Empire. In a situation which has not been repeated since, the coins carried a design which was completely different from that of the standard British issue.

By 1871, the standard Shield and St. George designs had been decreed to be produced by the colonial mints. A small 'S' mintmark was placed below the shield to designate the Sydney Mint issues. On 'St. George' issues, the mintmark appeared on the Obverse below the bust. The Melbourne Mint commenced operations in 1872 ('M' mintmark) and Perth in 1899 ('P' mintmark).

A Jubilee head design of Queen Victoria was placed on the obverse in 1887. Colonial 'S', 'M' and 'P' mintmarks for 'St. George' gold coins were moved to the reverse on the ground just above the date.

In 1908 (Edward VII's reign), the Canadian Mint ('C' mintmark) at Ottawa began producing sovereigns. For a single year in 1918, the Indian Mint ('I' mintmark) at Calcutta produced a sovereign. The last of the colonial mints to issue gold coins - Pretoria in South Africa ('SA' mintmark) - began producing sovereigns and half sovereigns in 1923 (George V's reign).

Britain's last circulating sovereign issues were dated 1925 and in 1932, the last of the colonial issues were minted in South Africa. A gold £5, £2 & Sovereign (£1) set was prepared for Edward VIII but his abdication on 10th December, 1936 ensured that they were never issued.

Proof £5, £2, Sovereigns (£1) and Half Sovereigns (£½) were issued to commemorate the coronation of George VI in 1937. A small number were minted in 1953 for Elizabeth II's coronation but they were not issued for collectors.

500 Years Sovereign Anniversary Tudor Rose £5 coin

In 1957, Great Britain resumed the issue of sovereigns for the bullion and collector market. In 1989, 4 specially designed gold coins (£5, £2, £1 and £½) were issued to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Gold Sovereign.

Other countries to issue gold Sovereign coins and it's derivatives include:

• Andorra - Sovereign issues in 1982 and 1983,
• Gibraltar - Quarter, Half, One, Two and Five Sovereign issues in 1989 and 1990, and
• Isle of Man - Half, One, Two and Five Sovereign issues since 1965. 

Article source: australianstamp.com

Fine Sovereigns and Pound

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By Queen Mary's reign (1553-4), gold coins were once more struck to the 23¾ carat standard. The newly issued 'Fine Sovereigns' struck to this standard, were valued at 30 shillings.

Gold Crown
Tower Mint, London, Hammer struck
Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

In 1592, under the reign of Elizabeth I, a 22 carat (91.6%) gold 'Pound' coin with a value of 20 shillings was introduced alongside the 30 shilling 'Fine Sovereign'. By 1603-4 in the reign of James I, this confusing state of affairs had been rationalised (in the short-term) by the issue of a smaller and lighter 22 carat gold sovereign coin valued, once more, at 20 shillings. This was to be the last sovereign issued for over two centuries!

The Unite, the Laurel and the Broad

In 1604, the weight of the gold sovereign/pound was again reduced and the new coin became known as the 'Unite'. In 1612, the 'unite' was revalued to 22 shillings. A yet again smaller 20 shilling gold coin - the 'Laurel' was introduced in 1619 but survived only until 1625 when the 'unite' was devalued to it's original value of 20 shillings.

The 'unite' survived the civil war and execution of Charles I in 1649 and continued to be minted during Oliver Cromwell's 'Commonwealth'. Another, smaller 20 shilling gold coin known as the 'broad' was issued in 1656. After the 'Restoration' of Charles II to the crown in 1660, unites were hammered for another two years.

Gold from Guinea

In 1662, two major initiatives were introduced. Firstly, hand hammering of coins was abandoned in favour of manufacture by the Roettiers improved mill and screw presses. Secondly, new 20 shilling coins were minted with gold imported by the Africa Company from Guinea - hence the name of the new coin - the 'guinea'. 50 shilling (5 guinea) and 10 shilling (Half Guinea) coins were also introduced. All coins were minted at the 22 carat (91.6%) gold standard.

1691 William and Mary Guinea

The guinea was revalued to 21s 6d at the commencement of the reign of William and Mary (1688-1694) and by the end of their reign had reached 30 shillings. The fluctuating value finally settled again at 21s 6d by 1698 and remained at this value for the balance of William III's reign (1694-1702) and throughout Anne's reign (1702-14), the latter period significant for the Act of Union of 1707 which effected the unification of the ancient kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single realm and resulted in changes to the royal arms appearing on all coins.

During the first of the Hanoverian kings, George I's, reign (1714-27) more changes occurred to the royal arms. The guinea was re-valued for the final time to 21 shillings in 1717 and remained at this value for 96 years. A short-lived issue of quarter-guinea coins was made in 1718 and in 1733, all hammered gold coins were officially withdrawn and demonetized.

1797 "spade" Guinea coin

The last of the guineas, the famous 'spade guinea' featuring a spade shaped shield on the reverse, was issued between 1787 and 1797. In the first years of the 19th century, gold coin issues were restricted to half and third guinea coins. After a gap of 17 years the spade guinea was issued for the final time in 1813.

continued in the next post...

Article source: australianstamp.com

The First Sovereigns

The pound sterling originated in Anglo-Saxon Britain during the 8th century (775/780AD) when the basic monetary unit, called a 'sterling', was made equivalent to 1/240th of a pound of silver (a penny). 240 sterlings became known as a 'pound of sterling'. It was to be 700 years before a pound coin was first issued.

The first pound coins were hammered in 1489AD during the reign of Henry Tudor (King Henry VII) to help England recover from the ravages of Civil War. They were magnificent 23¾ carat (99%) gold coins carrying an obverse design of the King enthroned in majesty, giving the coins their name - 'sovereigns'. The reverse design was a shield on a Tudor rose. Their value was the equivalent of 240 silver pennies or 20 shillings (the shilling as a coin denomination did not appear for another 59 years until 1548).

By 1526, a drain of gold to continental Europe led King Henry VIII to increase the sovereign's value by 10% - to the equivalent of 22 shillings. A few months later its value was increased again to 22s 6d, a value at which it remained until 1544 when a process of 'debasement' saw the sovereign's fineness reduced initially to 23 carats, then to 22 carats a year later and not long afterwards to 20 carats. During this period, the value of the sovereign was reduced to 20 shillings once more. In 1549, King Edward VI raised the gold fineness to 22 carat (91.6%).

Source: australianstamp.com | img source: coins-of-the-uk.co.uk