Exbrit

Same here, I have a few of them.

Rank and add your opinion of the 1871 - present St. George and Dragon design on the Sovereign reverse (except for 2005 &2012) 2005 design 2012 design Expected results; 1871 design 2012 design 2005 design - which is disliked immensely

So far the results are as expected: 6 for the Pistrucci design (1871 example) 1 for the 2005 design With most placing the 2012 between the 1871 and 2005

Interesting - I didn't think anyone would like the 2005. I just picked one up cheap.

I know many of you do not like TPG's, plastic tombs and all, but which TPG do you believe does the better job grading British coins? Neither - should not be an answer. Which TPG does the worst job grading? The Aussie's seem to prefer PCGS. This question also applies to the colonial (Imperial) mints in Australia, Canada, South Africa and India.

This is the fifth 1879 sovereign I've seen for sale within the past year. R4?

Anyone attend the St. James auction for the George Collection (5&6 March)? Wondering what the 1920 S Sovereign went for. I guess all of the losing bidders had plenty of money for the later lots.

The lowest bids allowed were 80% of the estimate which was probably the starting bid. I've been waiting fr them to post the realized prices - but they haven't yet.

0 for 2 - missed out on both bids.

How quickly will they post the realized prices? Seems like they should be posted soon.

Anyone win anything at the Downies 316? There are a lot of unsold items. I placed a couple of bids, but guess there were hidden reserves since both did not sell. I sent two enquiries - but so far no response.

I received an explanation of why my two bids did not win from Downies. Both explanations were reasonable. One the owner submitted a late reserve which I was under and the other was a minimum percentage situation. I'll give them another go.

+1

I experienced similar with the Noble 104 auction. For the Downies - I put in a reasonable bid, but the estimate was rather high on the 1872 M Sovereign. I had a moderately strong bid on the 1876 M Sovereign, but no luck. Many sovereigns did not sell - the reserves must have been high. It would be nice if they mentioned that a reserve was in effect.

I have a 1880/70 overrate Sovereign (London) that is not listed in the Spink's Coins of England as a known variety and was not in either the Quartermaster or Bentley collections. I believe that it may be the Marsh #91A, but Marsh does not describe the variety fully - so I cannot be sure if it is the 91A or not. I also talked to someone recently that advised he has almost 20 varieties of the 1880/70. He was selling one on Ebay - so I take his statement with a grain of salt. Spinks lists three varieties. The Bentley collection had a varity that was also not listed in Spinks for the 1880/70. The Bentley sovereign would normally be listed as variety A in Spinks - but they do not include variety A for the 1880/70. My variety has the buried W.W. on the narrow truncation on the obverse, a long tail and no B.P. on the reverse. If you have any information on this variety or have other not listed 1880/70 varieties - I'd appreciate your sharing it.

Some very nice sovereigns. Looks like I'll be visiting the bank for a loan.

One or two varieties that caught my eye, but otherwise not too much.

Another word on the easy solution that may not be the best solution. Coinmanage is Canadian not American, and it does have British coins. The problem with Coinmanage is that their British listings are not complete. For example some of the sovereigns that have both a shield back and St. George reverse for a given year only has one reverse type to choose from for a that year. This is a very small number of years, however - most have the option for either shield back or St. George. Coinmanage allows you to print a record including the information it pulls that you have entered along with either a photograph of your coin or a standard image that is contained in the database. I'm personally using Coinmanage because I wanted to save time and effort. Trade-offs

Accumulator - sent PM

Does anyone know if there are 1880/70 (second eight punched over seven) sovereigns for the Sydney and Melbourne mints? Also - how far along are you in your sovereign collections? Any date and mint mark collectors out there?

I am kind of fond of the 1893 Sovereign. Not crazy about the others, thou

The S3866A is £350 in F, £750 in VF, £1100 in EF. No price given for UNCThat looks to be the same as the 2013 SPINKS price. Bentley collection in EF is extremely rare. I haven't looked to see if Marsh has it listed. Nice coin. I collect the series, all mints and varieties. Wish I had one of those. As I don't really collect sovereigns, I'd consider a trade for an interesting penny! I'll have to scout for an interesting penny - as I do not believe I have one at the moment.

I agree with brg5658 regarding NGC for most non-US coins. One exception may be Sovereigns - at least those from Australia. The Aussies seem to favor PCGS according to a few of their experts.

You did well with the pic. I'll try and take a good one of mine. Thanks for sharing.

Great discussion. I have to admit, I enjoy my raw collection over my slabs. The slabs have one advantage, however. Many dealers will buy a slab that has been graded by one of the major TPGs sight unseen. They also sell easier on EBay. Photographs help when selling raw coins, but it is not the same as the guaranty provided by TPG coins. When I am referring to dealers - I am talking about worldwide. As far as Collector and/or Investor goes - I believe that many investors may eventually become collectors and many (if not all) collectors believe that their collections are worth something and even though they may not admit it - hope the value of their collection increases over time.