Dark Side collecting habit!

Well gentlemen, I have finally decided that what collecting I do from here on out will be the British Commonwealth's gold and silver Sovereigns with St. George mounted on a horse and spearing dragons.

I can just hear old GDJMSP laughing right now, as it has taken me a long time to come around to collecting any thing outside of the good old US of A. But this is a coin design that in one form or another dates back to the Regent of Antioch in 1112-1119, and continues with variations of St. George into Elizabeth II's era in 1992. The coins that I'm especially interested in were the ones who were designed by Benedetto Pistrucci in about 1817. The guy ranks right up there with the best of coin designers and this one coin is considered one of the most beautiful coins in the world. Oh yes, the bonus is that I will be able to get them from any number of different countries around the world.
Here is a sample of what I'm talking about:
http://www.knyght.co.uk/My Webs/images/2003sovereigngoldproofrev240.jpg

Yah! I know Doug, I kidded you about collecting coins with guys in their long johns, and here I go and pick one where the guy is only wearing a 'smile'.

 

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OldDan,it was not only Great Britain that struck Sovereigns depicting St George slaying the dragon.These countries also issued Sovereigns as well;

Australia.

Canada.

India.

South Africa.

Aidan.

 

Where's Russia?

 

ok I was trained in some psychology type of stuff once and i have that coin figured out.
One the man is naked.
Two the man is killing a long dragon.
Three the man is killing with a sword on top of a horse.
Based upon this I conclude that the coin represents mix sexuality where the man is slicing his manhood to become a women. Now is Queen Victoria on the other side and how do we know she really was a women?
Something to thing about when you passed out on St. Pats day. Hey, he got rid of the snakes.....
never mind.

By the way OldDan, those are nice coins.

 

The image is also on some Canadian bank tokens that were issued before Canada had offical money.

 

Yes I know Aidan and that is exactly why I chose this particular coin design. I'm able to find them in more than one country. From what I've been told they are minted in all the British Commonwealth countries. Or am I mistaken? Any information along these lines is appreciated.:secret:

 

Dan,you'll be pleased to know that the Isle of Man,Jersey,& the Hutt River Province Principality also issued gold Sovereigns as well,but they do not have Benedetto Pistrucci's St George & the dragon design,however.

I don't have a Sovereign in my collection yet.I do have an Australian 1865 Sydney Mint 1/2 Sovereign,
which has the distinctive obverse & the clearly distinctive reverse.It is a very scarce coin.

Be very careful when dealing in South African Sovereigns,as there are forgeries known.

Aidan.

 

I have one British sovereign and it is a nice coin that came at a very reasonable price for a gold coin. However, I never began a collection of them because I don't want to collect anything that my wife and kids would have trouble selling for fair value someday if I'm not around. I'm just afraid that when they go to dispose of them they will get a song and dance routine about how they aren't popular and therefore must be heavily discounted. How easy is it to sell a collection of sovereigns from around the world?

 

St George Pieces from Upper Canada.

Cloudsweeper99,I have a few of these.The 1852 Heaton's Mint (coin alignment) issue turns up very often,but the 1857's very rarely turn up.The same story applies to the 1850's & 1854's.

Aidan.

 

gold

I have one from Canada, Australia and Great Britain. The Great Britain one looked different than the others, so I took it to 2 different dealers I trust. And both said it was a coin they wouldn't buy as a Sovereign, even though it seems to be made of high quality gold. Why would someone counterfeit a coin using real gold? I'm not sure what to do with this coin. JonySky

 

In the strict sense one would "forge", not "counterfeit" with real gold.

Counterfeits, which are coins intended to circulate as money, would not be made from the true alloy as the cost of manufacture would defeat the purpose.

However, forgeries, which are made to imitate real coins for sale to collectors, are not usually made of the true alloy, but in some cases they are. If a half-ounce gold coin is worth thousands of dollars as a collector's item, investing a few hundred dollars in raw materials can be very profitable. By doing so the forger winds up with a coin which pases the first tests usually given to suspect coins - it's weight is correct, and the color is correct.

 

I appreciate the advice of both you and Aidan, and will take it very slow and cautiously in my buying of sovereigns from anywhere. In fact, I will personally only buy the less costly items like the one I'm about to show, and have my regular buyer do the bulk of the examination and procuring of more expensive examples. This is the method I've used for many years and it has worked out rather nicely, so if it isn't broken, don't try and fix it. Oh yes, here is the example I was shown and just had to make the first purchase of this series.
http://www.borderts.freeserve.co.uk/coins/1a.jpg

O.K. I'm off and running!:kewl:

 

I'm a tad confused by the image provided. Is it a black and white photo or is it natural (in which case the item is not a sovereign)?

I'm also struggling to make out what the date is. It looks to me to be 1951, but there weren't any gold sovereigns issued that year. (?) There was however a copper nickel crown issued for George VI commemorating the `Festival of Britain'. Is that the coin?

I re-read your original post and you make mention of gold and silver `sovereigns'. Just for clarity, when the term `sovereign' is used, it usually relates to the gold coin of that name. There is no coin minted in silver called a `sovereign'. In which case you must be talking about collecting the range of gold sovereigns AND silver crowns (dollar size coins) bearing the George and Dragon reverse.

If that is the case, the silver crowns of Queen Victoria from 1887 onwards make a challenging but very do-able set of coins to obtain. The gold sovereigns are also very do-able. The double sovereigns and five pound gold coins however are usually costly when found, but can be pretty difficult to unearth in the first place.

Ian

 

Sorry about the confusion Ian, and I can only explain it as your having to deal with a 'old & dense' newby in these dark side coins. With your help and assistance, maybe I'll overcome some of this ignorance.

Now as to the coin in question. Yes it is the 1951 British Geroge VI 'Festival of Britain' Crown coin. Krouse #KM880, I believe. It also only comes in proof. It was rather cheap and seemed like a good place to start on the series of St. Geroge and Dragon reverse coins. Don't have any idea how far I will get with this series, but the ones that will be obtained will be a nice looking set to hand on to one of my Great-grandchildren.

Thanks again for the information, it is all new to me and I do appreciate your offering the data.

 

The 1951 crown was originally issued in a small cardboard box (either maroon in colour or green. I've never found out what the significance of the two different colours was). It also came with a Festival of Britain postage stamp.....or so I am led to believe.

Although there were a few proofs, it is very unlikely that yours is one of them. More likely it is one of the 2 million plus `prooflike' coins that were issued.

This coin was the first departure from the use of silver for a UK crown size coin. It is still fairly readily found over here in Britland for about £3 -£5 complete with box.

Ian

 

Also correct, and the one I have coming is in a maroon box and cost me the grand total of $8.97 USD. Andy, the seller is from Conwy Wales. Boy, if I keep this up, some day I may know something about these British coins after all. Thanks again Ian:hug:

 

Thanks Aidian and GD for that tip. I was planning on picking up a few for a friend. Guess I stay away from unslabs for those raws might be sushi.