1871 Shield Sovereign

[darren]

Hi I'm new to the forum and I'd like to hear from any other sovereign collectors out there.I've just acquired an 1871 shield sovereign with a mis strike. The coin is in a VF condition (although it was advertised as AUNC on ebay)but I know that almost all the coins are over graded on ebay. The thing I noticed was the over strike so the grade didn't bother me. On the Reverse the M in BRITANNIARUM has been struck very obviously twice. Does anyone know of any other examples out there and would this increase its value considerably. Thanks.

[darren]

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[Rob]

It wouldn't add to its value. Double cut lettering occurs in virtually every denomination of every reign. It was either the result of a misplaced punch when the die was originally sunk, or due to a subsequent recutting of the die to extend its life when the detail had weakened after a period of use. In my opinion it isn't really an error in the conventional sense because there is no deviation from the required legend form. If the wrong letter had been punched in and whether corrected or not then this would be an error, but the slight misalignment is just that. The smaller the die, the worse the alignment as a rule of thumb with small silver and fractional farthings accentuating the problem.

[darren]

It wouldn't add to its value. Double cut lettering occurs in virtually every denomination of every reign. It was either the result of a misplaced punch when the die was originally sunk, or due to a subsequent recutting of the die to extend its life when the detail had weakened after a period of use. In my opinion it isn't really an error in the conventional sense because there is no deviation from the required legend form. If the wrong letter had been punched in and whether corrected or not then this would be an error, but the slight misalignment is just that. The smaller the die, the worse the alignment as a rule of thumb with small silver and fractional farthings accentuating the problem.

Thanks for the info Rob. I'm quite new to all this and I appreciate all the knowledge and expertise my Grey matter can absorb. Got in touch with Allgold Sevenoaks and they said it was worth about £250-£300 and graded it as EF. Quite happy about. They said more or less the same as you. I also have an 1869 sovereign with '1 over 1'. I'll be on the look out for wrong letter over strikes from now on!

[Peckris]

It wouldn't add to its value. Double cut lettering occurs in virtually every denomination of every reign. It was either the result of a misplaced punch when the die was originally sunk, or due to a subsequent recutting of the die to extend its life when the detail had weakened after a period of use. In my opinion it isn't really an error in the conventional sense because there is no deviation from the required legend form. If the wrong letter had been punched in and whether corrected or not then this would be an error, but the slight misalignment is just that. The smaller the die, the worse the alignment as a rule of thumb with small silver and fractional farthings accentuating the problem.

Thanks for the info Rob. I'm quite new to all this and I appreciate all the knowledge and expertise my Grey matter can absorb. Got in touch with Allgold Sevenoaks and they said it was worth about £250-£300 and graded it as EF. Quite happy about. They said more or less the same as you. I also have an 1869 sovereign with '1 over 1'. I'll be on the look out for wrong letter over strikes from now on!

Just a minor thing Darren - you actually posted this also in Unconfirmed Unlisted Varieties, where I replied to it. I wouldn't have if I'd seen this first. Just a thought. (I'm not getting on your case )