1879 Sydney St George Reverse Sovereign - PCGS MS62

Australia, 1879 Sydney St George Reverse Sovereign -

S-3858A, McD 156. There are a couple of key dates across the young head St George reverse sovereign series. The 1872-M is, of course, the main one; but the 1871-S is also tough (both types), as is the 1883-S. Last, but certainly not least, is the 1879-S, which would rank as perhaps the third or fourth rarest date across the series. This is only the second 1879-S St George reverse sovereign in MS62 that I have had in stock, although the first was graded with NGC. I have seen a handful of others in various MS grades, including the Bentley Collection specimen, which was purchased by a European dealer and subsequently graded PCGS MS63. The coin on offer here came from a Queensland source, and is totally original. It’s one of the nicest 1879-S St George reverse sovereigns I’ve seen, and certainly better than some of the supposedly weakly-struck uncertified examples that have been described as “UNC”. Very scarce this nice.