Great Britain 1823 1/2 sovereign
The first specimen was lot 32769 in Heritage sale 3089 (Dallas, TX, January 2021), where it sold for $7,200. The catalog description[1] noted, "Great Britain. George IV gold 1/2 Sovereign 1823 MS65 NGC. Of standout preservation for this 1/2 sovereign type, not a mark of consequence visible over radiant fields and features rendered to commendable clarity. Tied for the absolute finest certified by the grading services to date, and a coin bearing the additional honor of a prestigious pedigree. Ex. Eliasberg Collection." The second specimen was lot 23647 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (Newport Beach, CA, January 2021), where it sold for $552. The catalog description[2] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. 1/2 Sovereign, 1823. London Mint. George IV. PCGS EF-45 Gold Shield. A wholesome coin with honest wear and no overly distracting marks. From the Collection of Richard Jewell." This type is listed for 1823-25 and is very scarce as is the superseding bare head type of 1826-28 (KM 700). Half sovereigns would not be minted in large numbers until the 1840's.
Recorded mintage: 224,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 3.99 g, 0.917 fine gold.
Catalog reference: S-3803; Fr-379; KM-689.
- 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.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage Auction 3089: NYINC World & Ancient Coins Platinum & Signature Auction - Dallas, featuring the Cape Coral Collection of European Crowns and the Penn Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2020.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The January 2021 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Oro del Nuevo Mundo and Matt Orsini Collections, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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