Baldwin & Sons
Auction 88 8 May 2014
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BRITISH COINS, MILLED GOLD SOVEREIGNS, George IV, Gold Sovereign, 1828, second bust with date below, legend surrounding reads .GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA., engraved by William Wyon after Francis Chantrey's model, rev second crowned shield reverse, quartered with the arms of Hanover as an escutcheon, legend surrounding reads BRITANNIARUM REX FID: DEF:, engraved by Jean Baptiste Merlen (Bentley 21; Marsh 13 R4; MCE 479; S 3801). Once lightly cleaned with some light surface marks each side, otherwise extremely fine, an extremely rare date, finer than the Bentley example.
Calendar year mintage 386,182
The 1828 Sovereign is considered the key date for the reign of George IV, and is one of the hardest to find in the London series issued by the Royal Mint bar the even the rarer 1819 Sovereign of George III. The reason why the 1828 Sovereign is so rare is not widely known. To make a new dated die is an intensive and laborious process, in both time and cost, and considering the average longevity of a die, the mint considered itself very lucky at the dawn of 1828 when it found a number of 1827 obverse dies were still in perfectly good working order.
Therefore, rather than make new dies for 1828 immediately, it was decided to wait until the supply of 1827 dated dies dwindled. This did not finally occur until November of 1828 as it seems there was only a low demand for gold sovereigns this year. It was only in December that 1828 Sovereigns started to be minted and this probably did not last long into 1829, therefore the actual number made dated 1828 can be considered to be a fraction of the calendar year mintage quoted above, perhaps a mere twelfth as an educated estimate. It is surprising perhaps that the 1827 dies were simply not just overstruck to convert them to display 1828, but it seems that over-stamping dates was not common practice until the reign of Queen Victoria. Over-dates during this period are very few and far between in all denominations
Estimate: £18,000-22,000
Calendar year mintage 386,182
The 1828 Sovereign is considered the key date for the reign of George IV, and is one of the hardest to find in the London series issued by the Royal Mint bar the even the rarer 1819 Sovereign of George III. The reason why the 1828 Sovereign is so rare is not widely known. To make a new dated die is an intensive and laborious process, in both time and cost, and considering the average longevity of a die, the mint considered itself very lucky at the dawn of 1828 when it found a number of 1827 obverse dies were still in perfectly good working order.
Therefore, rather than make new dies for 1828 immediately, it was decided to wait until the supply of 1827 dated dies dwindled. This did not finally occur until November of 1828 as it seems there was only a low demand for gold sovereigns this year. It was only in December that 1828 Sovereigns started to be minted and this probably did not last long into 1829, therefore the actual number made dated 1828 can be considered to be a fraction of the calendar year mintage quoted above, perhaps a mere twelfth as an educated estimate. It is surprising perhaps that the 1827 dies were simply not just overstruck to convert them to display 1828, but it seems that over-stamping dates was not common practice until the reign of Queen Victoria. Over-dates during this period are very few and far between in all denominations
Estimate: £18,000-22,000