Australia 1884-M 1/2 sovereign
This specimen was lot 1068 in Goldberg Sale 137 (Los Angeles, January 2024), where it sold for $9,600. The catalog description[1] noted, "Australia. Half Sovereign, 1884-M. Type 5 obverse, type 3 reverse. Victoria, 1837-1901. Young head left; date below; VICTORIA DEI GRATIA. Reverse: Crowned, quartered, and garnished shield of arms; mintmark M and flower stops below; BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF: Edge milled. One of the finest known, truly a rarity in top grades. Pop 1; The Finest graded at PCGS. This coin photo in the PCGS Pop Report. PCGS graded MS-64. Ex Downies Auction 292, July 12, 2006, lot 1089." The Melbourne mint was opened in 1872 to strike the gold found in Australia and was not employed to strike ordinary circulation coinage until 1916. This is a rare date of a scarce type issued 1871-87. Unlike the sovereigns, none were made with the St. George and the dragon design on the reverse.
Recorded mintage: 48,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 3.99 g, 0.917 fine gold, .1178 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: S.3863B; Fr-14; KM-5.
- 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.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, Stephen Harvey and Vera Kan, Goldberg Sale 137: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, featuring the Peh Family Collection, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2023.
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