Sovereign 1871S Shield Reverse, WW incuse on truncation, S.3855A NEF/EF and lustrous, the reverse with a hint of red toning, the WW incuse type was only used on Sydney Mint Sovereigns in this year
Sovereign 1871 Shield ReverseMarsh 55, Die Number 30, a mint state and choice example, in an LCGS holder and graded LCGS 80, the finest known of 27 examples thus far recorded by the LCGS Population Report, a choice piece. A the time of writing a total of 1,112 VictoriaYoung Head Sovereigns of all currency dates and types had been submitted for LCGS grading and only 4 examples attained grades 80 or above, so an extremely hard series to find true mint state coins, this providing a rare opportunity
Sovereign 1872M 2 over 1 Shield Reverse, Marsh 59A, Fine/Good Fine and rated R4 by Marsh with 15-25 examples believed to exist, making this the scarcest date/die combination in the Melbourne Young Head Shield Series. The overdate is visible over the top of the 2 with the base of the underlying 1 forming part of the base of the 2. An example of the type is shown in Marsh 2000 page 64 (scanning electron microscope picture). Cataloguers Note: The mint was opened on 12 June 1872 by the Governor and Viscountess Canterbury. This was somewhat later than planned; it had ordered and paid for dies to strike coins dated 1871. It was initially manned by volunteers from the Royal Engineers who had undertaken special training in London. They were under the command of Colonel Edward Ward who had already great experience with opening a mint in Australia as he had been in charge of the original team at the Sydney Mint in 1855. This variety arose due to the dies sent from London only averaging 8000 impressions, whereas the reverse dies were averaging 14,000 impressions, therefore by September 1872 some of the 1871 obverse dies had to be altered. A local engraver Julius Hogarth was employed and carried out the work.
Sovereign 1872M 2 over 1 Shield Reverse, Marsh 59A, Good Fine/VF and rated R4 by Marsh with 15-25 examples believed to exist, making this the scarcest date/die combination in the Melbourne Young Head Shield Series. The overdate is visible over the top of the 2 with the base of the underlying 1 forming part of the base of the 2. This example shows a die crack through the 1 running from the rim, through the date, and ending on the truncation between the W.W. . An example of the type is shown in Marsh 2000 page 64 (scanning electron microscope picture). Cataloguers Note: The mint was opened on 12 June 1872 by the Governor and Viscountess Canterbury. This was somewhat later than planned; it had ordered and paid for dies to strike coins dated 1871. It was initially manned by volunteers from the Royal Engineers who had undertaken special training in London. They were under the command of Colonel Edward Ward who had already great experience with opening a mint in Australia as he had been in charge of the original team at the Sydney Mint in 1855. This variety arose due to the dies sent from London only averaging 8000 impressions, whereas the reverse dies were averaging 14,000 impressions, therefore by September 1872 some of the 1871 obverse dies had to be altered. A local engraver Julius Hogarth was employed and carried out the work.
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