Great Britain Sovereign (Fakes are possible) 1871 to 1885

The price of these glorious old sovereigns changes daily with the price of gold. There are many variations, including different mint marks.

To get a good idea of value, note that sovereigns contain 0.2354 troy ounces of gold. Using a web site such as kitco.com, you can find the current price of gold and multiply to find the basic value of a sovereign. For instance, if gold is $1340 US dollars per ounce, the base value (or bullion value, BV) would be 0.2354 x 1340 = $315.

In addition to the basic gold value, these coins from 1871 to 1885 with the 'young head' portrait of Queen Victoria carry collector value as well. The collector value varies with condition, roughly as follows:

SOVEREIGNS, approximate values:
worn: BV + $0 US dollars
average circulated: BV + $10
well preserved: BV + $50
fully uncirculated: BV + $150

These values apply to all dates between 1871 and 1885, but one date is more rare and the collector premium goes way up:

SOVEREIGNS DATED 1879:
worn: BV + $100
average circulated: BV + $600
well preserved: BV + $2000
fully uncirculated: BV + $5000

Additionally, sovereigns dated 1885 in fully uncirculated condition catalog at $1000. They must be fully uncirculated to achieve this price level.

This page applies to coins without mint marks. Look under the Queen's portrait and you may see a small M or S. If so, click to this CoinQuest page since your coin was minted in Australia, not Great Britain.

The coin in our picture comes from Chris Taylor of BucksCoins. It is a nice circulated example which has picked up some pleasing toning over the years. Some collectors (like me) enjoy toned coins and are willing to pay a little more to get attractive examples. Some collectors are the opposite. They think toning discredits the coin and they won't buy them at any price. It is a matter of taste.

Sovereigns are heavily counterfeited, and, in many cases, fakes are not easily detected. Never buy a sovereign from someone you do not trust implicitly.

CoinQuest thanks Chris Taylor for use of his coin photo.
cqLastNotify