Diary for Lester Dillon


British gold coins

2011-09-25

You can also shift it about unobtrusively, piece by piece. You can hide it also, if that's what you want to do.


Collectors and traders have been fascinated by gold sovereign coins for hundreds of years. That fascination displays no indication of waning.

The British Gold Sovereign is a single of the most ubiquitous of all coins and much sought right after by the two coin collectors and bullion traders. Sovereigns have been minted since 1817 (in Britain 1817-1917,1925 and 1957 on). At coins fairs you typically hear the dealers refer to these coins as 'Sovs'.

Aside from being minted in Britain, Sovereigns have been produced in Australia (Melbourne, Sidney, Perth), India (then Bombay, now Mumbai), Canada (Ottowa) and South Africa (Pretoria) despite the fact that these regional mints have not manufactured sovereigns given that 1932. The non-British coins carry a small mintmark ('S','M','P','I','C' or 'SA') just over the date.

The Obverse is the Monarch's head and the Reverse is most frequently St George and the Dragon, even though other backs have been utilized and are of interest to collectors. The Reverse often gives the Sovs a new phrase, like 'ShieldBacks'.

Specifications

Fat: 7.9881 g

Diameter: 22.05 mm

Thickness: 1.52 mm

Purity: 22 carat = 91.67% (11/12ths gold, 1/12th copper. Incorporating copper makes the coin far more scratch and dent resistant)

Gold Material: 113 grains = 7.3224 g = .2354 troy ounce

Encounter price: ??1 = 20 shillings

Historical past

Up right up until 1604 there was a coin called the English gold sovereign and in 1816 when there was the 'Great Recoinage' the title was revived. At that time standard gold (22 carat) was valued at ??46 14s 6d per troy pound this meant a ??one coin required to weigh 123.2744783 grains or seven.988030269 g. The fat is nonetheless the same these days.

As a historical note: to maintain the Gold Normal, in 1816 the value of silver was set at 66 shillings for 1 troy pound and silver coins had been only legal for denominations up to ??two.

The very first sovereigns carried the head of King George III and the famous George and the Dragon style by Benedetto Pistrucci, an Italian engraver who grew to become chief medallist at the Royal Mint.

Amassing

The Gold Sovereign is really common with collectors. Due to its gold material, the coin has a large intrinsic price producing it a great investment far too. Collectors can also get some dates as a really polished 'Proof'. Fifty percent Sovereigns are also frequent.

All that glitters... Almost certainly is gold

With high appeal coins, collectors and bullion traders usually fret about forgeries but truly gold coins are quite difficult to forge due to gold's distinctive properties of density and colour. Gold is the very dense and to use yet another metal and gold-plate it would suggest a coin beneath-bodyweight, over-diameter or fifty percent as thick, something that would be noticed really simply. Far more tough to spot would be a bullion coin melted down and re-forged as a really collectable date, but an skilled can typically notify these as well. You ought to constantly use respected dealers.



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