Baldwin & Sons
Auction 73 8 May 2012
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THE BENTLEY COLLECTION OF BRITISH MILLED GOLD SOVEREIGNS. Victoria, Sovereign, 1846, 4 struck over inverted 4, first young head left, ponytail terminates in single curved strand of hair, date below, curvy 6 with sharp end, rev crowned quartered shield of arms within laurel, emblems below, 7.98g (cf Marsh 29; MCE 507; S 3852). Once cleaned, now lightly toned, light surface marks and hairlines, good very fine and extremely rare.
Calendar year mintage 3,802,947
This is the most spectacular variety shared by 1844, 1845 and 1846 Sovereigns, and one of three varieties known for 1846 Sovereigns, the others being the normal date and Roman letter I for Arabic figure 1 in date. The 4 over inverted 4 is due to a true engraver’s error, punching in the date the 4 punch was obviously entered inverted on the first attempt and then shoddily corrected with a second punching over the top. The fact the error and correction exists for three consecutive years suggests someone working at the Mint may have made the same mistake three times and another sign of workmanship slipping, as the mintage for the calendar year is very similar to 1845. This variety on the 1846 Sovereign has only been discovered in the last ten years and since Michael Marsh passed away so it is not listed in his publication like the 1844 and 1845 and is considered to be the rarest of the three dates with this variety.
4 over inverted 4
Victoria First Small Young Head Type Currency Sovereign
The currency Sovereigns of Queen Victoria begin with a standard Young head design engraved by William Wyon with date below. The head does not quite fill the field as a later depiction does from 1848, and has the hair bound with a double fillet. It also has a large bun at the rear of the head that drops down into a “ponytail,” which on this earlier issue terminates at the bottom in a single strand ring-like curl. The engraver’s initial’s W.W. appear raised on the truncation. The legend reads VICTORIA DEI GRATIA. The border is finely toothed with a linear circle around the raised border which features both sides with a milled edge. The young head obverse design in basic from runs from 1838 till 1887. There are no Sovereigns dated 1840. However, this first young head is of a smaller design and only lasts for ten years inclusive from 1838-1848.
The reverse engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen features a new crowned shield design with a laurel wreath surrounding to left and right of 24 leaves per side, the top of each wreath each side terminates in two leaves. The bottom stalks are tied together with a ribbon and emblematic plants are depicted below. A central rose with a thistle to the left and a shamrock to the right. A small rosette appears either side. The majority of currency reverses of Victoria carry seven strings in the Irish harp with a faint diagonal line running through them depicting the rear of the bottom harp body. The shorter left string generally emanates at the top from the scroll on the back of the female figure on the harp body. The inner arches of the crown above have eleven pearls on each side, and five more run up the central upright. There are nine varied jewels on the crown band. The legend reads BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF:. The reverse is struck with an inverted die axis in relation to the obverse.
The shield type reverse design endures in the London series from 1838 till 1874 with just a few varieties. In the Colonial Australian series this reverse lasted until 1887 as it proved popular and acceptable in trade with Asia, a narrative to be continued in part two of the Bentley Collection.
The Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
House of Hanover
Born: 24 May 1819
Accession: 20 June 1837
Married: Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 10 February 1840
Coronation: Thursday 28 June 1838
Children: four sons, five daughters
Died: 22 January 1901, aged 81
Estimate: £1000-1200
Calendar year mintage 3,802,947
This is the most spectacular variety shared by 1844, 1845 and 1846 Sovereigns, and one of three varieties known for 1846 Sovereigns, the others being the normal date and Roman letter I for Arabic figure 1 in date. The 4 over inverted 4 is due to a true engraver’s error, punching in the date the 4 punch was obviously entered inverted on the first attempt and then shoddily corrected with a second punching over the top. The fact the error and correction exists for three consecutive years suggests someone working at the Mint may have made the same mistake three times and another sign of workmanship slipping, as the mintage for the calendar year is very similar to 1845. This variety on the 1846 Sovereign has only been discovered in the last ten years and since Michael Marsh passed away so it is not listed in his publication like the 1844 and 1845 and is considered to be the rarest of the three dates with this variety.
4 over inverted 4
Victoria First Small Young Head Type Currency Sovereign
The currency Sovereigns of Queen Victoria begin with a standard Young head design engraved by William Wyon with date below. The head does not quite fill the field as a later depiction does from 1848, and has the hair bound with a double fillet. It also has a large bun at the rear of the head that drops down into a “ponytail,” which on this earlier issue terminates at the bottom in a single strand ring-like curl. The engraver’s initial’s W.W. appear raised on the truncation. The legend reads VICTORIA DEI GRATIA. The border is finely toothed with a linear circle around the raised border which features both sides with a milled edge. The young head obverse design in basic from runs from 1838 till 1887. There are no Sovereigns dated 1840. However, this first young head is of a smaller design and only lasts for ten years inclusive from 1838-1848.
The reverse engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen features a new crowned shield design with a laurel wreath surrounding to left and right of 24 leaves per side, the top of each wreath each side terminates in two leaves. The bottom stalks are tied together with a ribbon and emblematic plants are depicted below. A central rose with a thistle to the left and a shamrock to the right. A small rosette appears either side. The majority of currency reverses of Victoria carry seven strings in the Irish harp with a faint diagonal line running through them depicting the rear of the bottom harp body. The shorter left string generally emanates at the top from the scroll on the back of the female figure on the harp body. The inner arches of the crown above have eleven pearls on each side, and five more run up the central upright. There are nine varied jewels on the crown band. The legend reads BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF:. The reverse is struck with an inverted die axis in relation to the obverse.
The shield type reverse design endures in the London series from 1838 till 1874 with just a few varieties. In the Colonial Australian series this reverse lasted until 1887 as it proved popular and acceptable in trade with Asia, a narrative to be continued in part two of the Bentley Collection.
The Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
House of Hanover
Born: 24 May 1819
Accession: 20 June 1837
Married: Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 10 February 1840
Coronation: Thursday 28 June 1838
Children: four sons, five daughters
Died: 22 January 1901, aged 81
Estimate: £1000-1200