All about Sovereigns

[Martin Oliva]

Hi

I am starting up my collection and managed to get some coins. I am looking for some advice where to learn from about Sovereigns, which reasourses are of any value?

I would be glad for some help with the value and information of what I have gathered so far:

16g 1887 Victoria

8g 1889 Victoria

8g 1909 Edvards VII

8g 1882 Victoria

8g 1901 Victoria

4g 1914 George

4g 1871 Victoria

4g 1907 Edvard VII

I am very grateful for any information.

[Garrett]

You might benefit from a coin grading book and a valuation book.

Both can be had for a few pounds/dollars.

I have them on my phone, helps me grade coins and then get an approximate value.

You could also visit various auction sites and find coins like yours to get an idea on what prices they are going for.

Have fun, looks like a nice collection !

cheers Garrett.

 

[Peter]

If you're just not after bullion maybe start with Collectors coins GB for a few £ and Marsh publication for data. Gold being soft,grading and maintaining the grade should be your priority.A very pleasing series to collect.

[1934 Wreath Crown]

Hello Martin. Like you I also started collecting sovereigns a few years ago. At first my purchases were whatever I could find at a good price, often at the cost of bullion or just above bullion. For me this was also a learning process and one that gave me the opportunity to do a bit more research and reading (mostly online).

However, I soon realised that I was basically only acquiring bullion and the price of my 'investments' would largely track the price of the precious metal....so why not just buy a sealed Pamp or Suisse bar?? The sovereigns which have significantly appreciated in value have been those which are scarce, rare or extremely rare and then grade also determines the value. Their values do not depend on the cost of gold but rather on their rarity and desirability. Therefore, my recommendation would be set yourself a quarterly or yearly target of how much you would like to invest in sovereigns, then research which sovereign(s) you would like to add to your collection and then try to find one that fits your budget. It is painstaking and time consuming work....but it's fun.

Just to give you a very brief idea, some of the rarer and more desirable sovereigns which won't break the bank (too badly) Ansell 1859, also 1859 small date, 1838, 1839, 1841, early 20th century Canadian mint coins, 1937 Proofs, several Australian sovereigns, some South African (Pretoria mint) sovereigns. These would set you back from the mid hundreds to perhaps a five figure sum. The older sovereigns George III, George IV and William IIII are also always sought after with William IIII being very popular. Decent ones would be in the high hundreds to mid thousands. Rare ones would be much more.

Please remember I have not mentioned any of the extremely rare ones (Henry VIII, Edward VI or Elizabeth I) as these are extremely difficult to come by and therefore extremely expensive (at least for me). In most cases the proof coins are more desirable but some bullion coins (e.g. SA) do buck the trend.

Finally please do not ignore the current crop of desirable modern strikes, particularly the proof coins like 1993, 1989, 2002, 2005 and 2012, to mention just a few. These are either very limited mintage or mark a significant anniversary or event (jubilee).

I'm afraid my knowledge is not as extensive as some of the other very well informed members on this site but I take a practical view of collecting particularly if I wish to enjoy owning them, hopefully realise a decent amount in future, or leave something valuable for my heirs. 

Good luck.

Edited May 24, 2016 by 1934 Wreath Crown

[talkenjas]

hello

I'm new to this forum but already a member  for a long time in the facebook group "English Coins For Sale And Wanted", not sure if someone is a member there but it could be.

Thanks and I hope to learn a lot here.

 

Regards

Talkenjas 

 

[Paulus]

36 minutes ago, talkenjas said:

hello

I'm new to this forum but already a member  for a long time in the facebook group "English Coins For Sale And Wanted", not sure if someone is a member there but it could be.

Thanks and I hope to learn a lot here.

 

Regards

Talkenjas 

 

Welcome to the forum! A few of us are members of that FB Group, including Chris (the owner of predecimal), Nonmortuous, and myself, amongst others I'm sure

[Nordle11]

Welcome to the forum Talkenjas. We do have a for sale section here to sell items however it's locked to brand new members to prevent people signing up just to sell their wares. There is also a limit (I think around £100), so the asking price is quite a bit over the limit! For this I've edited your post a little bit.

Hopefully you'll stick around and join the discussions, and by all means open a new thread with the picture again and perhaps ask for ideas on value, then you'll get a good idea of what would be a fair price before you find a buyer  

 

[azda]

Baldwins have printed a book on the Jubilee head sovereigns, you can view it with the link and is also available to buy on the baldwins website

 

https://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/jubilee_brochure/1

[Coinbuyer555]

Does it not depend on why you are collecting them, and how much you can afford?

If its gold bullion then buy the cheapest, if a collector buy the best quality. Keep away from the edge knocked coins if a collector..

[Andy77]

I know ebay is a dirty word here, but I recently sold some of my dad's gold sovs on there as my mum wanted rid of them, and they all went very quickly for around £240 each, it's made me decide to sell my half sov. I have from 1899 on there.

[Rob]

2 minutes ago, Andy77 said:

I know ebay is a dirty word here, but I recently sold some of my dad's gold sovs on there as my mum wanted rid of them, and they all went very quickly for around £240 each, it's made me decide to sell my half sov. I have from 1899 on there.

Again. Why? After 10% ebay and 0.034% +20p Paypal fees which come to just under 14%, you are left with 200-210. You would get more from a dealer for a sovereign given its spot value is currently just under 230.

[Andy77]

A dealer offered me £200 for them, and obviously I had to pay to send them registered delivery to her, so I'd have been out of pocket there. I don't think the ebay fees were that high actually, helped selling 3 of them to one buyer as well. I'd use a local dealer if they offered a fair price and replied to emails sent to them. I did actually send that dealer a white fiver as she offered a good price. At the end of the day, I'm looking out for what is the best price for my mum, and the easiest option. If that's ebay, fair enough, if it's York, well I've got to make a special delivery, do park and ride etc. so there's all extra costs there as well.

[Andy77]

Selling a half sovereign in a gold signet ring on ebay at the moment, going very well for my mum.

[markflorida]

On 15/01/2018 at 1:16 PM, Andy77 said:

A dealer offered me £200 for them, and obviously I had to pay to send them registered delivery to her, so I'd have been out of pocket there. I don't think the ebay fees were that high actually, helped selling 3 of them to one buyer as well. I'd use a local dealer if they offered a fair price and replied to emails sent to them. I did actually send that dealer a white fiver as she offered a good price. At the end of the day, I'm looking out for what is the best price for my mum, and the easiest option. If that's ebay, fair enough, if it's York, well I've got to make a special delivery, do park and ride etc. so there's all extra costs there as well.

If you can use eBay use it. 1000's of collectors and dealers buy from eBay. I often have lists of 'Wanted-Coins' from my customers and search eBay for them. It gives you the chance to get a better price as someone may pay more if they are looking for it. Only use PayPal and stick to the eBay rules dealing and communicating through eBay only and you will come to no harm. If you post out, only use the Paypal address and get a signature. Good luck