Heritage World Coin Auctions
Long Beach Signature Sale 3067 6-7 Sep 2018
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Great Britain
George V gold Sovereign 1917 MS63 PCGS, KM820, S-3996, Marsh-219 (R5). An immense offering, one of the greatest rarities of the British Sovereign series: the 1917 London issue. This type was not always as elusive as it is today; unlike other rare Sovereigns such as the 1819 and 1920-S both of which always existed in extremely limited numbers, the mintage of 1917 Sovereigns actually exceeded one million. Unfortunately, almost the entirety of this number were retained by the Bank of England, and later exported to Fort Knox after WWI as payment for accrued war debts to the US. After the passing of the Gold Reserve Act in January 1934 (the same act which created such a rarity in the US Double Eagle of 1933), all the 1917 Sovereigns held in the US were melted down and re-barred, leaving just a handful in existence. The present offering represents one of the finest of these surviving examples, the highest grade level for the type being MS64. This choice Mint State specimen exhibits brilliant cartwheel luster, canary-gold with a superb strike. Exhibiting no wear, having never been circulated to attain any, this example is only held back from a higher certified grade by light bagmarks in the fields, either attained during its time at the Bank of England during WWI, or perhaps during a long voyage to the US. Whatever its story as to how it escaped the fate nearly 1,000,000 of its peers met, this is a seldom-encountered opportunity to obtain one of the rarest British Sovereigns, and in a premium grade. Do not miss your chance to add it to your collection!
HID02901242017
Estimate: 20000-30000 USD
George V gold Sovereign 1917 MS63 PCGS, KM820, S-3996, Marsh-219 (R5). An immense offering, one of the greatest rarities of the British Sovereign series: the 1917 London issue. This type was not always as elusive as it is today; unlike other rare Sovereigns such as the 1819 and 1920-S both of which always existed in extremely limited numbers, the mintage of 1917 Sovereigns actually exceeded one million. Unfortunately, almost the entirety of this number were retained by the Bank of England, and later exported to Fort Knox after WWI as payment for accrued war debts to the US. After the passing of the Gold Reserve Act in January 1934 (the same act which created such a rarity in the US Double Eagle of 1933), all the 1917 Sovereigns held in the US were melted down and re-barred, leaving just a handful in existence. The present offering represents one of the finest of these surviving examples, the highest grade level for the type being MS64. This choice Mint State specimen exhibits brilliant cartwheel luster, canary-gold with a superb strike. Exhibiting no wear, having never been circulated to attain any, this example is only held back from a higher certified grade by light bagmarks in the fields, either attained during its time at the Bank of England during WWI, or perhaps during a long voyage to the US. Whatever its story as to how it escaped the fate nearly 1,000,000 of its peers met, this is a seldom-encountered opportunity to obtain one of the rarest British Sovereigns, and in a premium grade. Do not miss your chance to add it to your collection!
HID02901242017
Estimate: 20000-30000 USD