1872 Melbourne Shield Sovereign struck en médaille - PCGS AU50

Australia, 1872 Melbourne Shield Sovereign struck en médaille -

While there are hundreds of different varieties and errors in the British shield back sovereign series, Australian shield sovereigns for the most part seem to have been minted to a higher standard. Exceptions exist in the early years of the Melbourne Mint, where challenges plagued production. The 1872/1M overdate sovereign is well-known; however, fewer collectors are aware of the 180 degree upsets of the same year. To identify this rare variety, rotate the coin vertically. Normal young head shield sovereigns show both sides oriented correctly when the coin is rotated this way. If the coin is the rare upset variety, one side of the coin will appear upside down when the coin is rotated vertically. As VIP proofs are often struck with misoriented or upset dies, the 1872M upset sovereigns have been occasionally described as specimens, but they are more likely a variety of the circulation coin. Either way, they are extremely rare, with just five or six individual examples identified over the last twenty years. While the value of such a rarity is hard to determine, the last recorded sale in a public auction was from the Edward Cummings auction of Australian sovereigns in March 2017, where a circulated example with some lustre sold for $4,560. The example photographed here is an honest coin graded AU50 with PCGS, and came from a Sydney source. There is bloom in the legends and devices, and presents well in hand. If you’re a specialist sovereign collector looking for a unique coin for your collection of sovereign rarities, the present coin is essential. To read more about this variety, click here.