Australia 1860-S sovereign
This specimen was lot 2746 in Goldberg sale 75 (Los Angeles, September 2013), where it sold for $4,830. The catalog description[1] noted, "Australia. Sovereign, 1860 (Sydney). Victoria. Young head with oak leaf hair tie. Considerable original mint luster remaining. Rare in top grades. NGC graded AU-58." This type, bearing the portrait of Queen Victoria wearing a banksia wreath, was struck at the Sydney mint 1857-70. The total issue was in the tens of millions yet the type is scarce today, especially in nice condition. The Sydney mint was opened in 1855 to strike the gold found in Australia and was not employed to strike ordinary circulation coinage until 1920.
Recorded mintage: 1,573,000.
Specification: 7.99 g, 0.917 fine gold, .2354 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: Fr-10; KM 4.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- McDonald, Greg, The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed., Lavington, Australia, 2017.
- Pitt, Michael, ed., Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values, 32nd Edition, Matraville, New South Wales, Australia: Renniks Publications, 2023.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, Jason Villareal and Steven Harvey, Goldberg Sale 75: the pre-Long Beach Sale, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, 2013.
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