Since it is nearly impossible to collect entire series of these wonderful coins, here are a few suggested types of collections each with its own challenges and rewards.
Queen Elizabeth Type Set
One of each type produced.
Affordable to most budgets over a few years and quite enjoyable.
1957 Sovereign 1957 has finer milling than later issues
1958-1968 The First portrait is available at around bullion for BU examples.
1985-1997 Proof only and rather difficult to obtain.
1989 1989 issue is quite popular comes up fairly regularly
1999 Large head obverse and 3 different reverses, deceptively simple, St George shown here.
2002 Shield Reverse
2005 Stylized St George Reverse
........................
King George V Mints Set
One of each mint produced.
George V ruled at height of the Royal Mints reach and is the only monarch whose portrait appears on sovereigns from all 7 branches.
Suits most budgets, starting from bullion up to AUD$500,000 each
Sydney Mint Most expensive and cheapest of the set,
Melbourne Mint Well struck most dates, relatively common.
London Mint 1913 most common, 1917 rarest.
Ottawa Mint 1917 seen most often, not easy in higher grades
Pretoria Mint 1927, 1928 very common in higher grade, 1923 and 1924 nearly impossible.
Perth Mint Usual weak strike most years, Choice Uncs for every budget.
Bombay Mint 1918 only, top examples not easy.
Queen Victoria Type Set
One of each type produced.
Affordable to most budgets over a few years and quite enjoyable.
Those with a substantial budget could attempt this in proofs only, the Young portrait ones are very rare.
Young Head St George Reverse Produced from 1871 in Sydney and London, Melbourne started in 1872, purists may wish to note that there is 3 or so slightly different versions of this portrait.
Young Head Shield Reverse Produced in London from 1838, with branch mints commencing in 1871 & 1872 purists may wish to note that there is 5 or so slightly different versions of this portrait.
Jubilee Head Produced in 3 mints 1887 to 1893, Michael Marsh notes 2 types of this obverse.
Veiled Head Produced in 4 mints from 1893 to 1901. Perth commenced in 1899.
Monarch Type Set
One of each monarch type produced.
Bit of a challenge this one in strictly Uncirculated condition or an interesting and, somewhat good value method to gather the proofs from this series.
George III 1818 rarest of all sovereigns, other dates obtainable in Unc with patience.
George IV, Laureate Head. Not easy to find in better grades.
George IV, Bare Head. Proof depicted here, only found slightly more than earlier portrait.
William IV Not often found in collectable grades.
Queen Victoria, Young Head, St George. A well struck high grade version is truly a thing of beauty to behold.
Queen Victoria, Young Head, Shield. Shield design is quite hard wearing, still retains good eye appeal at lower grades but Unc minimum to buy.
Queen Victoria, Jubilee Head. Proof depicted here, Choice Uncs are achievable.
Queen Victoria, Veiled Head. Proof depicted here, Choice Uncs are achievable.
Edward VII Matte Proof depicted here, Choice Uncs are difficult to find.
George V, Large Head. 1920 Sydney is the rarest of this series to 1911 Sydney in Choice available. A coin for every budget. London Proof Depicted Here
George V, Small Head. A low point in sovereign history, general standard is not high, Unc versions can be quite disappointing.
George VI 1937 Proofs only, plain edged, often "edge bruised".
Queen Elizabeth II Proofs near impossible, Gem UNC's for around bullion.
Queen Elizabeth II, Decimal. Proofs around bullion, good value to gather.
Queen Elizabeth II, 3rd Portrait. Deceptively difficult to obtain.
Queen Elizabeth II, 500th Anniversary. Single Year Issue in 1989, rather attractive design available in Proof only.
Queen Elizabeth II, Old Head Proofs and bullion issues still affordable.
Australian Sovereigns were minted in Sydney from 1855 to 1926, Melbourne from 1872 to 1931 and Perth from 1899 to 1931. Therefore, from 1872 it is possible to have exactly the same type and dated Australian Sovereign struck at both the Sydney and Melbourne mints and 1899 at the Perth Mint. This, however, was not the same case every year, Sovereigns could be produced at one mint, two mints or all three mints and when enough coins were thought to be in circulation no sovereigns were produced at all. A complete Collection of Australian Gold Sovereigns encompasses all those produced between 1855 and 1931 at they Sydney, Melbourne and Perth Mints some 190 pieces in total.
The first Australian Sovereigns feature our own unique Australian design and are known as the famous and Rare "Sydney Mint" type sovereigns struck from 1855 to 1870. From 1871 to 1931 when production ceased, Imperial sovereigns were produced in Australia distinguishable only by a (S) Sydney, (M) Melbourne or (P) Perth Mint marks stamped onto each coin.
Australian Sovereigns may be collected by Date, Type, Mint or a combination of these. Take the Queen Victoria Veiled Head Series (1893-1901), it contains a total of 21 coins - 9 struck in Sydney, 9 in Melbourne and 3 in Perth. If you decide to collect this series the aim is to piece together one example of each of the 21 different dated and Minted Veiled Head Type Sovereigns ever struck. In most series there are certain key dates which will cost you considerably more than the others but these make very good Investments and are worth saving up for. In the Veiled Head series
The simple fact is that unlike the modern mass produced issues released from the Government Mints in Canberra and Perth today, the Sovereigns are no longer produced and in fact as time goes by there are less and less remaining in existence. With more and more interested Collectors and Investors in the market and less coins it makes good sense to start putting some away now as a nest egg for your Retirement or to pass onto your children
Queen Elizabeth Type Set
One of each type produced.
Affordable to most budgets over a few years and quite enjoyable.
1957 Sovereign 1957 has finer milling than later issues
1958-1968 The First portrait is available at around bullion for BU examples.
1985-1997 Proof only and rather difficult to obtain.
1989 1989 issue is quite popular comes up fairly regularly
1999 Large head obverse and 3 different reverses, deceptively simple, St George shown here.
2002 Shield Reverse
2005 Stylized St George Reverse
........................
King George V Mints Set
One of each mint produced.
George V ruled at height of the Royal Mints reach and is the only monarch whose portrait appears on sovereigns from all 7 branches.
Suits most budgets, starting from bullion up to AUD$500,000 each
Sydney Mint Most expensive and cheapest of the set,
Melbourne Mint Well struck most dates, relatively common.
London Mint 1913 most common, 1917 rarest.
Ottawa Mint 1917 seen most often, not easy in higher grades
Pretoria Mint 1927, 1928 very common in higher grade, 1923 and 1924 nearly impossible.
Perth Mint Usual weak strike most years, Choice Uncs for every budget.
Bombay Mint 1918 only, top examples not easy.
Queen Victoria Type Set
One of each type produced.
Affordable to most budgets over a few years and quite enjoyable.
Those with a substantial budget could attempt this in proofs only, the Young portrait ones are very rare.
Young Head St George Reverse Produced from 1871 in Sydney and London, Melbourne started in 1872, purists may wish to note that there is 3 or so slightly different versions of this portrait.
Young Head Shield Reverse Produced in London from 1838, with branch mints commencing in 1871 & 1872 purists may wish to note that there is 5 or so slightly different versions of this portrait.
Jubilee Head Produced in 3 mints 1887 to 1893, Michael Marsh notes 2 types of this obverse.
Veiled Head Produced in 4 mints from 1893 to 1901. Perth commenced in 1899.
Monarch Type Set
One of each monarch type produced.
Bit of a challenge this one in strictly Uncirculated condition or an interesting and, somewhat good value method to gather the proofs from this series.
George III 1818 rarest of all sovereigns, other dates obtainable in Unc with patience.
George IV, Laureate Head. Not easy to find in better grades.
George IV, Bare Head. Proof depicted here, only found slightly more than earlier portrait.
William IV Not often found in collectable grades.
Queen Victoria, Young Head, St George. A well struck high grade version is truly a thing of beauty to behold.
Queen Victoria, Young Head, Shield. Shield design is quite hard wearing, still retains good eye appeal at lower grades but Unc minimum to buy.
Queen Victoria, Jubilee Head. Proof depicted here, Choice Uncs are achievable.
Queen Victoria, Veiled Head. Proof depicted here, Choice Uncs are achievable.
Edward VII Matte Proof depicted here, Choice Uncs are difficult to find.
George V, Large Head. 1920 Sydney is the rarest of this series to 1911 Sydney in Choice available. A coin for every budget. London Proof Depicted Here
George V, Small Head. A low point in sovereign history, general standard is not high, Unc versions can be quite disappointing.
George VI 1937 Proofs only, plain edged, often "edge bruised".
Queen Elizabeth II Proofs near impossible, Gem UNC's for around bullion.
Queen Elizabeth II, Decimal. Proofs around bullion, good value to gather.
Queen Elizabeth II, 3rd Portrait. Deceptively difficult to obtain.
Queen Elizabeth II, 500th Anniversary. Single Year Issue in 1989, rather attractive design available in Proof only.
Queen Elizabeth II, Old Head Proofs and bullion issues still affordable.
Australian Sovereigns were minted in Sydney from 1855 to 1926, Melbourne from 1872 to 1931 and Perth from 1899 to 1931. Therefore, from 1872 it is possible to have exactly the same type and dated Australian Sovereign struck at both the Sydney and Melbourne mints and 1899 at the Perth Mint. This, however, was not the same case every year, Sovereigns could be produced at one mint, two mints or all three mints and when enough coins were thought to be in circulation no sovereigns were produced at all. A complete Collection of Australian Gold Sovereigns encompasses all those produced between 1855 and 1931 at they Sydney, Melbourne and Perth Mints some 190 pieces in total.
The first Australian Sovereigns feature our own unique Australian design and are known as the famous and Rare "Sydney Mint" type sovereigns struck from 1855 to 1870. From 1871 to 1931 when production ceased, Imperial sovereigns were produced in Australia distinguishable only by a (S) Sydney, (M) Melbourne or (P) Perth Mint marks stamped onto each coin.
Australian Sovereigns may be collected by Date, Type, Mint or a combination of these. Take the Queen Victoria Veiled Head Series (1893-1901), it contains a total of 21 coins - 9 struck in Sydney, 9 in Melbourne and 3 in Perth. If you decide to collect this series the aim is to piece together one example of each of the 21 different dated and Minted Veiled Head Type Sovereigns ever struck. In most series there are certain key dates which will cost you considerably more than the others but these make very good Investments and are worth saving up for. In the Veiled Head series
The simple fact is that unlike the modern mass produced issues released from the Government Mints in Canberra and Perth today, the Sovereigns are no longer produced and in fact as time goes by there are less and less remaining in existence. With more and more interested Collectors and Investors in the market and less coins it makes good sense to start putting some away now as a nest egg for your Retirement or to pass onto your children
