St. James's Auctions
Auction 32 19 May 2015
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Victoria, sovereign, 1838, 'narrow shield', inverted die axis, young head l., rev. crowned shield of arms within wreath (S.3852A; M.22A), good extremely fine, reverse better, sharply struck save for the central lower shield on reverse, exceedingly rare, and the finest known specimen
*ex Bentley Collection, Baldwin's Auctions, 8 May 2012, lot 38
Always an elusive date, the first struck for this monarch, but here is the best representation extant of the variant reverse which is better known as a variant of the 1843 sovereign. This 'narrow shield' variation from the normal reverse die was not recognized for more than a century, and this surely accounts for the rarity of the piece for each date; that being said, while both are truly rare, it is the 1843 which appears more frequently for sale. The origin of this reverse die is unknown but it has been speculated that it may have been intended for a pattern but not used. As dies were expensive to create, eventually it was pulled for use by the Royal Mint, but in the day its variant was unimportant and ignored. The leaves and their arrangement differ from the norm, as does the crown's placement and its smallest details, all of which produces the image of a narrower shield. Of more historical importance is the date itself, the first year of issue. Mintage was more than 2.7 million pieces, yet the coin as a date is seldom encountered and rarely seen above EF condition. It must be assumed that the majority of 1838 sovereigns suffered melting, as explained under the history given for the 1828 sovereign in this sale, and thus almost all that were created, of the unknown quantity that was made of this 'narrow shield' style, simply disappeared – long, long ago.
Estimate: £15,000-17,000
*ex Bentley Collection, Baldwin's Auctions, 8 May 2012, lot 38
Always an elusive date, the first struck for this monarch, but here is the best representation extant of the variant reverse which is better known as a variant of the 1843 sovereign. This 'narrow shield' variation from the normal reverse die was not recognized for more than a century, and this surely accounts for the rarity of the piece for each date; that being said, while both are truly rare, it is the 1843 which appears more frequently for sale. The origin of this reverse die is unknown but it has been speculated that it may have been intended for a pattern but not used. As dies were expensive to create, eventually it was pulled for use by the Royal Mint, but in the day its variant was unimportant and ignored. The leaves and their arrangement differ from the norm, as does the crown's placement and its smallest details, all of which produces the image of a narrower shield. Of more historical importance is the date itself, the first year of issue. Mintage was more than 2.7 million pieces, yet the coin as a date is seldom encountered and rarely seen above EF condition. It must be assumed that the majority of 1838 sovereigns suffered melting, as explained under the history given for the 1828 sovereign in this sale, and thus almost all that were created, of the unknown quantity that was made of this 'narrow shield' style, simply disappeared – long, long ago.
Estimate: £15,000-17,000