August Price List
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Drake Sterling Numismatics Pty Ltd ABN 81 129 186 214 GPO Box 2913 Sydney, New South Wales, 2001 +61 421 229 821 [email protected] https:www.drakesterling.com SEPTEMBER 2021 PRICE LIST All coins are photographed on our website athttps:www.drakesterling.com. Latest Coins 1925 Sydney Sovereign PCGS MS6400 USD $699 1925 Melbourne Sovereign PCGS MS6300 USD $658 1916 Sydney Sovereign PCGS MS6300 USD $658 1913 Sydney Sovereign PCGS MS6300 USD $585 2020 Delhi Sovereign - PCGS MS6700 USD $1,066 1875 Sydney St George Reverse PCGS MS6200 USD $2,389 Sovereign - From the ever-popular Indian sovereign series of coins. An underrated coin that is infrequently seen in Mint State. Equal-second finest graded by PCGS (9/21). 1879 Melbourne St George Reverse PCGS MS6100 USD $658 1882 Sydney St George Reverse PCGS MS6200 USD $732 Sovereign - Sovereign S-3857, with long tail. 1910 Sovereign PCGS MS6300 USD $585 2021 Fiftieth Anniversary of the PCGS MS6700 USD $103 Aboriginal Flag Two Dollar 2021 Fiftieth Anniversary of the PCGS MS6700 USD $81 1908 Twenty Dollars no motto - PCGS MS6300 USD $2,168 Aboriginal Flag Two Dollar In an old Generation 3.1 PCGS holder from the mid 1990s. Rarities 1825 Laureate Head Sovereign - PCGS MS6200 USD $12,860 1918 Fifteen Rupees - PCGS MS6500 USD $13,594 The second-rarest date of the George IV Equal-second finest graded by PCGS (8/21), sovereign series. A genuine world rarity that and the best that I have seen on the market is bettered by just four PCGS-graded 1825 since 2011. If you are a connoisseur collector sovereigns worldwide. Equal-fifth finest of high-grade British Indian coins, or perhaps graded by PCGS (9/21) and rare in this a type collector of British colonial coins, this grade. is your coin. 1858 Sydney Mint Half Sovereign - PCGS MS6200+ USD $13,594 1857 Sydney Mint Half Sovereign - PCGS MS6300 USD $16,534 As most half sovereign collectors know, the Second-finest graded by PCGS (9/21) and average half sovereigns is rarer than the RARE in this grade. Catalogues $20,000 in average full sovereign. With lower mintages UNC and $30,000 in Choice UNC in Renniks and higher circulation rates, half sovereigns . can be hard to find in even lower grades. Early Victorian half sovereigns are particularly difficult in VF or better, while examples in AU can sell for thousands. It was therefore with a lot of anticipation that I waited for PCGS to grade this example. Certified at PCGS MS62+, it is the third-finest graded by PCGS (7/21), is fully lustrous, and overflows with bloom. As with all coins rated at this level, there are minor marks in the fields, but the eye appeal is unimpaired. If 1 / 44 you’re a mint error collector, the reverse was struck from clashed dies, resulting in a “shadow” of the obverse on the reverse side. Along with an 1856 half sovereign in PCGS MS62, the coin photographed above is one of the finest Sydney Mint half sovereign that I’ve ever handled, and one of the nicest I’ve seen on the market for some time. If you’re putting together a high-grade Sydney Mint half sovereign set, or are assembling a half sovereign type set, a coin of this calibre is an essential piece. 1870 Mature Bust Mohur Restrike - PCGS PR6400+ USD $16,534 1870 Mature Bust Five Rupees Restrike - PCGS USD $8,451 PR6300CAM Although not as rare as the young bust KM-476, restrike with mature bust. Die version of this date, this 1870 restrike mohur, polishing lines evident in the open fields (as featuring the mature bust of Queen Victoria, is normal for the Indian restrike series), but makes up in grade what it lacks in absolute otherwise, a fresh, lustrous example. Equal- rarity. Single-finest certified by PCGS (7/21) finest graded by PCGS (8/21) with one other and the finest example I’ve handled of this coin. That coin was last on the market in date and type. June 2017, where it sold for the equivalent of AU$12,364. 1922 Sydney Sovereign - PCGS MS6200 USD $29,026 1922 Melbourne Sovereign - PCGS MS6300 USD $21,677 By the mid-1920s, gold coin was no longer A rare date in better-than-average grade. used in daily commerce, but while Very scarce. “housewives” no longer had “a few sovereigns to jingle in her pocket” (paraphrasing the founders of the Commonwealth Bank), gold sovereigns were still required as part of Australia’s national reserves, and also to nominally back the issue of Australia’s paper currency. In practice, this meant that the coins manufactured at Australia’s three mints were stored in the Treasury’s vaults, where they were only drawn upon to settle international debts. (Banks were at this stage clearing their daily settlements in notes instead of gold, and Treasury was actively discouraging banks from holding physical gold coin.) Gold coin that was exported was often melted, while surplus gold coin held by Treasury after the collapse of the gold standard in 1932 was converted to bars. These mass meltings of our gold coin holdings instantly created a plethora of numismatic rarities, rarities that would be in the decades to come prized by collector and investor alike. One such rarity is the Sydney mint sovereign of 1922. Five-hundred and seventy-eight thousand pieces were minted, but most were melted down or otherwise destroyed. Today, only a tiny handful exist (perhaps only dozens), and the date is one of the most coveted rarities in the George V sovereign series, as rare as or rarer than the 1917 London sovereign. The example on offer to here is one of six pieces we’ve handled since 2008, and one of the nicer examples to appear on the market in recent times. PCGS has graded just eight examples, of which this piece is one, while NGC has not graded any! The coin on offer here is graded a humble MS62, but has the appearance of a better coin. Its fields are generally free from detracting marks or abrasions, while the rims are sharp. The lustre is unbroken, as you’d expect on a Mint State coin. Overall, if you’re looking to build a complete or nearly complete set of Australian sovereigns, or are just seeking a prestigious trophy specimen for your type set, this is your coin. 1874 Shield Reverse Sovereign - PCGS MS6100 USD $20,208 1853 Proof Half Crown - PCGS USD $25,719 PR6400CAM Die number 32. Equal-second finest PCGS- A key early rarity that appears on the market 2 / 44 graded example of this classic sovereign perhaps half a dozen times a decade. rarity (12/20), and only the second 1874 Beautifully-toned and rare in this state of shield back sovereign that I've handled in preservation, being the second-finest graded any grade since 2007. Scarce in any grade by PCGS (9/21). and RARE in Mint State. 1821 Proof Sovereign - PCGS USD $20,943 1870 Young Bust Mohur Restrike - PCGS PR6300 USD $14,329 PR6300DCAM The 1821 sovereign was the first commercial A brilliant and attractive example of this gold proof sovereign issued by the Royal Mint. mohur restrike. The previous owner had It’s also the first currency issue sovereign to purchased the coin directly from the Royal feature the standard representation of St Mint Calcutta. The coin was subsequently George and the Dragon, a design that stored in a small paper pouch from the Royal continues to grace the sovereign today. Mint for many years, until I arranged to have While the mintage is unknown, the coin is the coin certified with PCGS. This pouch undoubtedly rare, appearing in auction only accompanies the coin. Equal-finest graded once or twice a year, and always keenly by PCGS (6/20). pursued. The specimen photographed above is the first I’ve handled since April 2019, and one of the nicer pieces to grade PR63DC with PCGS. Free from significant marks and marred by only a smattering of die polish, the coin strikes a good balance between grade and price: Sufficiently presentable to belong in a connoisseur sovereign collection, but affordable and not out of reach to the average high-end collector. 1923 Sydney Sovereign - PCGS MS6400 USD $36,374 1927 Proof Canberra Florin - PCGS PR6700 USD $18,371 A key George V melt rarity comparable to the If there were a beauty pageant for coins, the famous 1917 London or 1916 Canadian 1927 proof Canberra florin would take home sovereigns. Equal-finest graded by PCGS the tiara. Struck from specially-polished dies (9/21) and one of the great sovereign rarities and blooming with lustre, these elite proof of the Australian series. coins are an Australian classic, and, in my opinion, the finest example of mint expertise of the time. The official mintage was 400 pieces, although there appear to be far fewer trading in the market today. Indeed, because the coin was issued commercially to collectors at the time, many examples have been mishandled, damaged, or otherwise ruined as a numismatic treasure. Some may have even been spent. Whatever the number available today, it is certainly low, with perhaps only two or three appearances in the market each year. Of those, few are of top numismatic quality. The example on offer here is graded PCGS PR67 and is the equal- finest example graded by PCGS (7/21) and one of the nicest pieces I’ve handled in recent years. (In fact, I haven’t handled a proof Canberra florin in PCGS PR67 since 2012.) If you’ve been chasing an attractive and high-grade proof Canberra florin, but haven’t found an example that meets your requirements for eye appeal and grade, this may just be the coin you’ve been looking for.