Two more numismatic rarities have hit the headlines this week, with the 1920 Sydney sovereign and a restrike Adelaide Five Pound creating two new world record prices for Australian coins.

The infamous 1933 Double Eagle once owned by King Farouk and London coin dealer Stephen Fenton has sold for the second time this century, once again shattering world records. Changing hands at US$18,8...

It appears to be little known, but there are date varieties on both the shield and St George reverse sovereigns of 1873. A picture says a thousand words, so instead of describing the varieties, we hav...

When I was younger, I was given an old Renniks catalogue from the 1970s. Before the internet, price guides were often the only way to learn about all aspects of coins collecting, such as what to colle...

We are asked this question a lot, and there are so many factors that go into the value of a gold sovereign that tomes could be written about it. Fortunately, when a non-collector asks how much their s...

PCGS offers a number of different services besides basic grading and encapsulation. One of their most popular services is their photography service, run by professional photographer Phil Arnold. Phil ...

Like the Edward VII sovereign series, the veiled head (or old head) sovereigns are popular, owing to their affordability and general availability. They are also the last of the Victorian sovereigns, a...

The blank ponds (or Kaal ponds) were manufactured in Pretoria some time around 1900 in the midst of the South African War (Second Boer War), and are in effect unfinished gold ponds. While historical r...

Across almost every Australian coin series, there are unanswered numismatic questions. Whether the questions arose from poor record keeping, botchy die punching, bad policy, experimentation, or someth...

I have just got in a large supply of the new matte black PCGS boxes. These are second-hand, but are in pretty good condition, otherwise. These hard, plastic boxes can hold twenty PCGS-graded holders, ...

The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is the largest coin grading company in the world, and with over 35 million coins graded over its 30 year history, more and more Australian collectors want ...

While all pennies and halfpennies are worth something in the highest grades, most of these copper coins are practically worthless and sell by the kilo in bags to scrap dealers. Pennies are generally w...

The Edward VII sovereign series has always been a popular one for collectors. Big enough to be challenging, but small enough to build in a few years, it has appeal to both connoisseur collector and be...

I am going to tell you a story, or rather some stories. It is from my experiences throughout my (relatively short in relation to my age) career in numismatics.

There are a lot of sovereign rarities across the George V sovereign series. There are about a dozen major rarities from the 1920s to 1930s, as well as handful minor ones. Key dates like the 1923SA cur...

On the 17th May 2020, one of the oldest and most comprehensive sets of sovereigns on the PCGS Set Registry sold under the hammer in Texas, United States. Called the Caranett Collection, this award-win...

The gold sovereign is one of the most widely-recognised and sought-after gold coins in the world. Their historic appeal makes the gold sovereign ideal collection items. But not all gold sovereigns are...

Like it or not—and, yes, I am not anti-slab, but I am also quite comfortable with it—some significant element of our industry finds slabbing useful. So I think it behoves me to define some terms n...

Mint marks are small letters struck on a gold sovereigns that identify its origin. If you are a coin collector, knowing about these marks is essential. A mint mark not only tells the collector where t...

In 2006, the Royal Australian Mint accidentally issued a number of proof sets with a 2005-dated dollar coin. The reverse of this coin bore the standard Kangaroo design (known as the “mob of ‘roosâ...