1891 Melbourne Sovereign - PCGS AU55

Australia, 1891 Melbourne Sovereign -

McD 183, S-3867B, short tail. Of the Jubilee head sovereign varieties, the 1891-M sovereign with the short tail is one of the rarest. It’s also one of my favourites, because the short and long tail varieties are easy to distinguish. (Although rarer Jubilee head sovereign varieties exist, they are all related to the shape of the obverse designer’s initials, are difficult to distinguish, and are therefore not widely collected.) The example photographed above is only the third I have seen on the market for years. The first example was from the Quartermaster Collection, graded “about Uncirculated”, and sold for $2,954. The second example, which was also described as “about Uncirculated”, sold in London in March 2014 for £843 (AU$1,590 at the then exchange rate). Make not mistake about it: This variety is both rare and popular. The example on offer above is the first that I have had in stock since 2008, and is very scarce, even in AU55.