Firstly thank you GP for the spanking new section in the SS forum! I'm looking forward to all the awesome posts on Sovereigns. I have known of Sovereigns for a long while but never invested myself. As gold coins seem to be a target and tend to creep into my stack, I figure Sovereigns are next on the list. I have armed myself with plenty of knowledge when it comes to other coins. Spotting bargains, condition and the dreaded fake. But I know bugger all other than what google provides. Could experienced hands share and shed some light one what to look for and things to know when stacking Sovereigns. What is the difference between a good buy and a bad one? There sure are plenty to choose from. Mints all around the world and it appears they have numi premiums too. Key dates? mint marks? different designs? even fakes! If anyone could share some knowledge on the Gold Sovereign please do! Many thanks Dan
Get some digital scales, and weigh them all. There are plenty of "jewellers copies" in circulation that have a lower gold content than 22ct, and a simple weigh test will show many of them up.
I'm not an expert but Canadian, Ottawa minted sovereigns attract a premium due to i believe scarcity. Same with the Indian ones, however fakes appear to be common with the India mint coins.
You have to learn the key dates, because when you buy them from bullion dealers like Ainslie here in Brisbane they do not have a clue on numismatics and they will sell you a 1920S for bullion value + GST. They do not know how to apply GST on second hand coins you want to avoid them for your bullion grade coins, but because they are brain dead on numismatic always worth to check it out what they have in stock when you pick up your other items. You can pick up 1000s in profit on a single coins.
Good point re GST - if you see sovereign coins priced "plus 10%" for GST, it's been incorrectly assessed. GST will be a component of the price, but because of input credits, it should not be just another 10% added on top. Sp you should be able to get sovereigns for less than 10% over spot.
Thank you for the replies What about condition? Bullion, UNC, Fine etc. When it comes to sov's What's the most liquid? Does condition even matter? A bit of scribble on a coin holder doesn't seem as reliable as a slab. Seems as if condition changes from eye to eye and owner to owner. Thanks Dan
For common years anything below aUNC/UNC is bullion value. For hard to get years depends on how expensive the top grade is. Also many other factors to consider for different mints and years, as some years can be relatively common in higher grade, as large hoard were released by central banks for example. You have to learn each year because no general rule. Mintage is only a guide, because some years were almost completely melted down like the 1926S. They are 5 figure coins now.
1. Are they any relevant differences between British and Australian sovs? If so, what? 2. Are there any websites and/or publications about things sov. that might be useful for newbies? TIA.
1. Mainly the mintmarks.. A good reference for those who are not familiar with gold sovereign mintmarks, is this one > >> http://www.cruzis-coins.com/sovs/mintmark.html 2. Google would be a starting point, I'd suggest...
Thank you! Excellent vid and excellent tool. Looks to be a very good investment. Is it normal to handle gold coins like that? I'm sure the panda collectors are cringing while lookin at the vid. (I was. Couldn't help myself thinking about OMP's lol) Dan
There's literally hundreds of sovereign varieties once you look at all of the monarch/year/mint variations, without looking at the numismatic varieties within single issues. When I was collecting them, I was aiming for a full set of Melbourne sovereigns - you could aim for a set of Perth mint marks, a set of Sydney sovereigns, jubilee head Queen Victoria, type sets (one of each monarch) full year sets from every mint that year (e.g. 1889) - there's lots of ways of tackling a collection. Not a bad idea to figure out how you're going to approach it
There is a handy ANDA reference which covers some basics and you should be able to get it from a coin dealer or their website - http://www.anda.com.au/resources.asp
This also brings us to another point. Collecting and making sets is not really my thing. I'm interested in gold content and liquidity while enjoying a coin for what it is. Do most here stack for sets or to up the Au in their stack? If you make a whole set eg.Jubilee Head Queen types. Would this be desirable for other collectors and would it pay other than just for the enjoyment of collecting? Dan
Just a personal comment on the "slabbing" of Australian collectable sovereigns....... It is commonly accepted within Australian sovereign collector circles that slabbed Australian sovereigns are over graded. An NGC AU 50 coin is likely really a good VF coin or just into the EF grades. An AU 57 would likely be in reality a sound EF coin. Before anyone tries to slam my statement above, I make it based on personal experience, with the the sale of over 40 "slabbed" sovereigns bought in the USA and sold in Australia, such sales including an NGC graded AU50 1855 sovereign and a "twin" AU50 1856 sovereign. I have never onsold a slabbed coin for a loss though so there is a market out there. The only value I found in sourcing slabbed coins is that when onselling those coins, I can use the gradings of the slabbing company while holding my hand on my heart to say, "this is not my grading but that of a major US grading company" rather than giving my own guestimate grade of the coin. Get hold of McDonalds. Do a little research on sovereigns. Won't take you long to do up a list of "keydate" sovereigns vs bullion date sovereigns.
I currently stack for gold only - trying to avoid being suckered into the numismatics again. As projack said though, learn your key dates etc - when I sold my original collection in 2004, I made quite a bit on "bullion" coins that turned out to be rarer dates etc. Paid $200, sold for $600 etc.
I do not mind to pay 5% extra for UNC. You have to ask a question from yourself. What do you rather have 100 of the most beautiful lustrous coins from our history, or 105 worn sometimes damaged scratched bended 22K fractional gold for your stacking needs? Those extra 5 coins won't make life easier, but the 100 beauty will bring a smile on my face every time look at them. If I really have to have that extra 5 more gold coin I can find other ways to save than from my daily enjoyment and pleasure just looking of these beauties. Most people will spend more than 5% on the cheapest available new car, despite all will end up on the junk yard one day, but these UNC beauties will stay for many generations and will be enjoyed by our children long after we gone. I just take care of them in the mean time.
well if I could afford 100 of them I probably wouldn't be worried about 5 more or less. Yes shiny and flat is better than dull and bent any day. Visual appeal is going to come into most purchases regardless of what it is. I don't have any Sovereigns yet, was looking this afternoon. Do they come in cases or as a bare coin? Where have you found is the best place to buy them?
