GB 1989 500th Anniversary Quintuple Sovereign (5 Pounds)

The GB sovereign has been a very imposing and collectible coin since its introduction by Henry VII. The initial purity was 23k but this was debased by Henry VIII to 22k and the quality of strike also suffered. In 1604 it was replaced by the Unite and then the Laurel, the Broad and the Guinea before finally reemerging in 1817 during the reign of George III.

The Royal Mint struck commemorative sets in 1989 on the 500th anniversary of the sovereign, reviving the first design with the Tudor Rose reverse. Proof coins and sets were struck in four denominations; half, full, double (2 Pounds) and quintuple (5 Pounds) sovereigns. However, only the 5 Pound coin was also struck in BU. These were quickly bought up by collectors/dealers/speculators and hidden away in their vaults.

Today I've found it far easier to lay my hands on a Proof 69 or 70 DCAM/UC quintuple sovereign than a high quality BU example. I have an MS67 example which I've been looking to upgrade for a while so I was very happy when I managed to snag this little (well not so little at 39.90 grams) beauty. At MS69DPL it shares the top spot with 4 with none graded higher

 

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Wow, always loved this design, I've got but a lowly proof 1/2 sovereign.
Very nice there!