Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 20 26 Sep 2018
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
British Coins, George IV, sovereign, 1828, bare head l., rev. crowned shield of arms (S.3801), so rare a date that it is missing in almost all collections of sovereigns, even those worked on for many years, this piece showing obvious wear from commercial circulation, which to some may add to its appeal (see comments to follow), certified and graded by PCGS as About Uncirculated 50, the key date in the reign
The 1828 sovereign has long been recognized as a rarity in all conditions. Marsh states that during the calendar year of 1828 most sovereigns struck by the Royal Mint bore the date 1827, and that the new obverse die bearing the date 1828 was not used until December of that year. This accounts for the small mintage of 386,182 sovereigns of this date, compared to other dates in this series having mintages ranging from about 2.2 million to more than 5.7 million. Reflecting his experience, Marsh assigned an R4 rating to this date (15 to 25 specimens known). While the overall population may be towards the high end of his estimate, the date appears infrequently enough to call it extremely rare among the gold coins of this king. And, most important of all, better grade examples are truly elusive. In point of fact, most sovereigns minted during the first four decades of the 19th century are exceptionally difficult to locate in choice, lustrous conditions, and even the seemingly common 1826 'bare head' sovereign (with a mintage of more than 5.7 million) is not very often available in the best grades. Challis (A New History of the Royal Mint) offers a solid explanation, noting that contemporary accounts often mentioned the preponderance of 'light coins' circulating by the 1840s, meaning that the New Coinage was wearing quickly in commerce and that light, or worn, gold coins in particular represented a loss versus face value to owners. The Treasury decided to do something about the situation, Challis says (page 484), and it steadily withdrew more than fourteen million pounds' worth of 'light' gold between July 1842 and March 1845, 'roughly one-third of the total gold circulation'. All these earlier dated coins, sovereigns and their halves ('and this exercise probably removed most of the remaining guineas'), were melted by the Royal Mint, which then replaced them with new coins. This explains the relative rarity of all of these coins today, and if an 1826 sovereign is a scarce coin then consider the magnitude of rarity of the 1828 sovereign, and in particular the exceptional coin in this lot.
(12500-15000 GBP)
The 1828 sovereign has long been recognized as a rarity in all conditions. Marsh states that during the calendar year of 1828 most sovereigns struck by the Royal Mint bore the date 1827, and that the new obverse die bearing the date 1828 was not used until December of that year. This accounts for the small mintage of 386,182 sovereigns of this date, compared to other dates in this series having mintages ranging from about 2.2 million to more than 5.7 million. Reflecting his experience, Marsh assigned an R4 rating to this date (15 to 25 specimens known). While the overall population may be towards the high end of his estimate, the date appears infrequently enough to call it extremely rare among the gold coins of this king. And, most important of all, better grade examples are truly elusive. In point of fact, most sovereigns minted during the first four decades of the 19th century are exceptionally difficult to locate in choice, lustrous conditions, and even the seemingly common 1826 'bare head' sovereign (with a mintage of more than 5.7 million) is not very often available in the best grades. Challis (A New History of the Royal Mint) offers a solid explanation, noting that contemporary accounts often mentioned the preponderance of 'light coins' circulating by the 1840s, meaning that the New Coinage was wearing quickly in commerce and that light, or worn, gold coins in particular represented a loss versus face value to owners. The Treasury decided to do something about the situation, Challis says (page 484), and it steadily withdrew more than fourteen million pounds' worth of 'light' gold between July 1842 and March 1845, 'roughly one-third of the total gold circulation'. All these earlier dated coins, sovereigns and their halves ('and this exercise probably removed most of the remaining guineas'), were melted by the Royal Mint, which then replaced them with new coins. This explains the relative rarity of all of these coins today, and if an 1826 sovereign is a scarce coin then consider the magnitude of rarity of the 1828 sovereign, and in particular the exceptional coin in this lot.
(12500-15000 GBP)