Saudi Arabia (1947) pound
This specimen was lot 73155 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2021), where it sold for $4,080. The catalog description[1] noted, "SAUDI ARABIA. Sovereign (Pound), ND (1947). Philadelphia Mint. PCGS MS-64 Gold Shield. Used as payment to the government of Saudi Arabia for oil concessions in the country, these post-WWII issues are always popular with collectors, especially given their domestic production at the Philadelphia mint." Numismatists have long appreciated the irony of the United States Mint striking gold at the behest of American oil companies at a time when it was illegal for United States citizens to own gold. A similar piece, of four sovereigns weight, was struck in 1946-47.
Recorded mintage: 123,000.
Specification: 7.99 g, 0.917 fine gold, 0.2354 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: Fr-191; KM-35.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The June 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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