Great Britain 1879 sovereign

Heritage sale 3064, lot 31051

This specimen was lot 31051 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $7,200. The catalog description^[1] noted, "Victoria gold Sovereign 1879 AU50 NGC, Royal mint. Despite the moderate circulation of this example, its rarity more than excuses its moderate grade with very few specimens known. Richly colored, with a reddish ring of its original luster closing in from the peripherals, no dramatic marks mar its surface nor reduce its eye appeal. The finest example of this date we have ever handled was an AU 55 NGC, part of our auction 3057 in September 2017, which realized an impressive hammer price of $13,000. For the advanced sovereign collector." This type was struck 1871-85 in considerable numbers. The obverse was carried over from the type of 1838-74 but the reverse revived the St. George and the dragon design last used in 1825.

Recorded mintage: 20,000, the key date.

Specification: 7.98 g, 0.917 fine gold.

Catalog reference: KM 752, S-3856A, Marsh 90 (R4).

Source:

Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
^[1]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
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.
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.

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Great Britain 1879 sovereign

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