Stanley Gibbons Baldwin's
Auction 79 8 May 2013
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G BRITISH COINS
The Bentley Collection of British Milled Gold Sovereigns
1860 Sovereign with Inverted A for V in Queen's Name
Victoria, Sovereign, 1860, letter o for 0 in date, inverted A for V in Queen's name, second larger young head left, WW incuse on truncation without stops, date below, raised die flaw to left of 1 in date, rev crowned quartered shield of arms within laurel wreath, emblems below, E of second word over a higher E, 7.94g (cf Marsh 43; MCE 521; S 3852D). Heavily surface marked, cleaned fine, very rare and unusual.
ex Noble Investments plc, 21 November 2005
Calendar year mintage 2,555,958
Another variety only discovered in the last decade since the publication of Marsh's The Gold Sovereign. This most interesting variety is still only demonstrated by a few specimens. The engraver in haste, or due to lack of sharpness in eyesight, or daylight, has obviously selected an A punch rather than a V when stamping in the letters onto the obverse die, or perhaps the correct punch could not be located in the time allowed. He and his superiors either never noticed, and / or could not afford to waste a valuable die for a tiny error the legacy of which has passed to us as an interesting true variety in the coinage of 1860. Interestingly it must have occurred on at least two obverse dies for 1860 as this is one of two variations of the inverted A for V in the Bentley Collection. The piece here has a letter "o" for "0" in the date, the other piece previously sold, lot 83 for £900, had the inversion coupled with a Roman style I in the date.
Estimate: £800-1000
The Bentley Collection of British Milled Gold Sovereigns
1860 Sovereign with Inverted A for V in Queen's Name
Victoria, Sovereign, 1860, letter o for 0 in date, inverted A for V in Queen's name, second larger young head left, WW incuse on truncation without stops, date below, raised die flaw to left of 1 in date, rev crowned quartered shield of arms within laurel wreath, emblems below, E of second word over a higher E, 7.94g (cf Marsh 43; MCE 521; S 3852D). Heavily surface marked, cleaned fine, very rare and unusual.
ex Noble Investments plc, 21 November 2005
Calendar year mintage 2,555,958
Another variety only discovered in the last decade since the publication of Marsh's The Gold Sovereign. This most interesting variety is still only demonstrated by a few specimens. The engraver in haste, or due to lack of sharpness in eyesight, or daylight, has obviously selected an A punch rather than a V when stamping in the letters onto the obverse die, or perhaps the correct punch could not be located in the time allowed. He and his superiors either never noticed, and / or could not afford to waste a valuable die for a tiny error the legacy of which has passed to us as an interesting true variety in the coinage of 1860. Interestingly it must have occurred on at least two obverse dies for 1860 as this is one of two variations of the inverted A for V in the Bentley Collection. The piece here has a letter "o" for "0" in the date, the other piece previously sold, lot 83 for £900, had the inversion coupled with a Roman style I in the date.
Estimate: £800-1000