1919 George V Gold Half-Sovereign

Hi all,

My best guess is that this is an elaborate fake as I'm aware no half-sovereigns were struck by the Royal Mint in 1919. However I just wanted to see everyone's thoughts on this find (Photos below) I can confirm that the weight and measurements match a half-sovereign perfectly and it has been tested to confirm that it is 22ct gold. The only thing that doesn't add up is the date. There is no visible mintmark either to suggest it could be Canadian or Australian if they minted in 1919 anyway. Thanks in advance for any insight into what this could be.

 

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Best I can figure is it might be genuinely made of gold, just not a genuine coin. This is sometimes done because import taxes, fees, or other laws and regulations treat coins differently than bullion, rather than being something done to fool collectors. Fakes of impossible dates are usually for this reason.

Other possibility is maybe it's a fantasy piece made by someone that wanted to commemorate 1919 for some personal reason. (Why not just get a genuine 1919 full sovereign, I don't know, but it's slightly plausible.)

There were full sovereigns minted in 1919 (but only in Australia and Canada), but no half sovereigns.

 

A bit of a speculation here but this may be Middle East origin. If struck in such bullion form, it makes it easier to trade.

 

Could it be 1918 year half sovereign with damage to the 8 making it look like a 9.
A jewelry piece could account for the wear or puffy looking numbers.