1926 Sydney Sovereign - PCGS MS64

Australia, 1926 Sydney Sovereign -

The 1926-S Sovereign needs no introduction. Like the million-dollar 1920-S, the 1926-S is one of the key dates to the George V Sydney Sovereign series (along with the 1922-S and 1923-S), and is one of the key dates to the sovereign series overall. Ultra-rare, with only a handful of examples available to collectors around the world, it turns up, perhaps, once or twice a year. It is rarer than the $100,000 Adelaide Pound, rarer than the 1930 penny, and rarer than the Holey Dollar, and is often missing in the collections of even the most sophisticated sovereign collectors. As I understand it, the entire mintage of 1,031,050 bar fifty pieces was sent to London and melted. The remaining fifty examples somehow found their way into the hands of collectors and have traded amongst us since. A small handful of specimens must have also entered circulation, as I have seen at least two worn examples (one in London graded PCGS AU55 and the other in Sydney, uncertified). Like the rare 1918-P Half Sovereign, there were no 1926-S Sovereigns in the Reserve Bank of Australia sale. The example photographed above is the equal-finest graded, and one of the nicest 1926 Sydneys I’ve seen in the last seven years. The Greg McDonald catalogue prices it up at $58,000 in UNC and $69,500 in Choice UNC, so the asking price of $49,500 for this example here is good value, in my view. VERY RARE.