Stanley Gibbons Baldwin's
Auction 79 8 May 2013
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G BRITISH COINS
The Bentley Collection of British Milled Gold Sovereigns
Victoria, Sovereign, 1864, die number 5, second larger young head left, WW incuse on truncation without stops, date below, stub top to 4, curvy rounded 6 with bulbous top, heavy raised die flaw through 1 of date, some light doubling of legend both sides, rev crowned quartered shield of arms within laurel wreath, die number 5 below, the 5 filled, emblems below, 7.98g (Marsh 49; MCE 525; S 3853). A few very light marks, toned, extremely fine.
Calendar year mintage 8,656,352
This coin is die number 5 of 94 different numbered dies in the Bentley Collection running from 1 to 105. Four of these are unrecorded by Marsh in his listing of numbers known. Marsh claims ten other numbers exist making 104 reverse dies in total to strike more than 8 million Sovereigns, showing inefficient die longevity. However it must always be borne in mind that the calendar year mintages are exactly that, and do not reflect the dates upon the coins in that period, some of them could have been 1863 dated coins, and 1864 date coins were probably made into the first part of 1865. A statistician should be able to make more sense of the figures given more time and research perhaps in collaboration with the Royal Mint Museum. Part three of the Bentley Collection contains a total of 31 different die numbers of 1864.
Estimate: £300-400
The Bentley Collection of British Milled Gold Sovereigns
Victoria, Sovereign, 1864, die number 5, second larger young head left, WW incuse on truncation without stops, date below, stub top to 4, curvy rounded 6 with bulbous top, heavy raised die flaw through 1 of date, some light doubling of legend both sides, rev crowned quartered shield of arms within laurel wreath, die number 5 below, the 5 filled, emblems below, 7.98g (Marsh 49; MCE 525; S 3853). A few very light marks, toned, extremely fine.
Calendar year mintage 8,656,352
This coin is die number 5 of 94 different numbered dies in the Bentley Collection running from 1 to 105. Four of these are unrecorded by Marsh in his listing of numbers known. Marsh claims ten other numbers exist making 104 reverse dies in total to strike more than 8 million Sovereigns, showing inefficient die longevity. However it must always be borne in mind that the calendar year mintages are exactly that, and do not reflect the dates upon the coins in that period, some of them could have been 1863 dated coins, and 1864 date coins were probably made into the first part of 1865. A statistician should be able to make more sense of the figures given more time and research perhaps in collaboration with the Royal Mint Museum. Part three of the Bentley Collection contains a total of 31 different die numbers of 1864.
Estimate: £300-400