Buying a gold Sovereign

[ChrisM]

I'm in the market for a 1981 Sovereign, as a special present. Interestingly, the Royal Mint prices it at £335 (proof), and another site sells them in different qualities: EF uncirculated (£214.55); uncirculated (£238.35); proof, no certificate (?) (£212.90). I'm confused about the relationship of pricing, as I would have thought that proof would be more expensive (why no certificate?) and EF uncirculated is less expensive than ordinary uncirculated.

Clearly, much to learn...!

[Chris Perkins]

No certificate will mean that the coin was originally in a set and has been broken up, so had no single cert originally (the cert would have mentioned all the coins in the set).

There isn't really a difference in value between normal striking and proof as far as I'm concerned. Both were made in very large numbers - large enough numbers to always satisfy the small demand for them. A stonking faultless UNC-normal (and they usually are UNC as they didn't circulate) or Proof versions may be worth a small % over the current bullion value, so I would have thought you'd be able to currently find one for under £200. I buy them at just under bullion where possible and if I had one I'd price it just over.

Not sure what EF uncirculated is though, as it can only be one or the other and in fact finding one worn down to EF is probably quite difficult! Perhaps it indicates that the packaging is EF and the coin UNC.

I expect it's a birth year so only 1981 will do, but I've currently got a few earlier years on offer here: http://www.predecimal.com/coins-sale-british-gold-coins-c-51_187.html

[ChrisM]

No certificate will mean that the coin was originally in a set and has been broken up, so had no single cert originally (the cert would have mentioned all the coins in the set).

There isn't really a difference in value between normal striking and proof as far as I'm concerned. Both were made in very large numbers - large enough numbers to always satisfy the small demand for them. A stonking faultless UNC-normal (and they usually are UNC as they didn't circulate) or Proof versions may be worth a small % over the current bullion value, so I would have thought you'd be able to currently find one for under £200. I buy them at just under bullion where possible and if I had one I'd price it just over.

Not sure what EF uncirculated is though, as it can only be one or the other and in fact finding one worn down to EF is probably quite difficult! Perhaps it indicates that the packaging is EF and the coin UNC.

I expect it's a birth year so only 1981 will do, but I've currently got a few earlier years on offer here: http://www.predecimal.com/coins-sale-british-gold-coins-c-51_187.html

Thanks for all that. '81 was the year we got married. They'd just stopped making hammered coins at that stage from what I remember.

[Chris Perkins]

I've got a nephew that was born in 2013. Instead of 2013 I'm going to go for 1913 for him (when one comes along in a collection). 100 years earlier, better value, actually circulated and some real handheld history instead of peddled RM modern junk, struck in appallingly low relief.

The 1980s Machin coins are quite nicely made compared to the modern ones.