Australia's proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns are 'extremely rare'. This article quantifies those two words 'extremely rare'.

FOUR REASONS WHY PROOF GOLD IS WORTH OWNING

Nothing compares to the allure of gold.

Particularly when it comes in the form of an Australian sovereign or half sovereign struck to PROOF quality. The coins are visually stunning, distinguished by the sharpest of detail and brilliant golden-mirror surfaces. When you look at the proofs shown above, you can only but agree. Perfection in gold.

Proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns have a wonderful connection to the past.

Proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns are the story tellers, defining an era, or a year, like no other coin. The coins can also define an occasion. And a monarch. And they tend to have a connection to a prominent person, either a dignitary, a Mint Master or an influential collector. 

Australia’s proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns are exclusive.

The coins are extremely rare and we would be lucky to sight one piece at auction annually. And the reason for their incredible scarcity is that proofs were not struck every year. And of those dates that were struck as proofs, only one, perhaps two up to a maximum of three filtered their way out into the collector market.

Australia's proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns have strong collector/investor appeal.

Collectors that buy in this area are all but guaranteed that the market will never be flooded with examples. So it is a sector that offers financial stability and has been the hunting ground of investors for decades.

The sector also has strength because it has widespread support amongst the Australian market. And overseas coin markets.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE GOLD SOVEREIGN AND HALF SOVEREIGN MARKET.

Australia’s first official gold coinage was the Sovereign, struck at the newly established Sydney Mint in 1855. It was the first coin of the realm to be minted at an overseas branch of the Royal Mint London. Half sovereigns were also struck at the Sydney Mint in 1855, a few months after the sovereign.

Australia’s last sovereign was struck in 1931 and from 1855 to 1931, eight different portraits were used on our circulating sovereigns, five of Queen Victoria, one of Edward VII and two of George V. Three different reverse designs appeared on Australia’s sovereigns during that time, the ‘Sydney Mint’, the Shield and the Saint George and the Dragon, the last two used concurrently from 1871 to 1887.

Half Sovereigns were struck from 1855 until 1918. Seven different portraits were used on our circulating half sovereigns, five of Queen Victoria, one of Edward VII and one of George V. Three different reverse designs appeared on Australia’s half sovereigns during that time, the ‘Sydney Mint’, the Shield and the Saint George and the Dragon.

The Sydney Mint, Macquarie Street Sydney.

The sovereign series has nine distinct types identified by their varying obverse and reverse designs.

Queen Victoria
• 1855 to 1856 'Sydney Mint' reverse, Type I obverse
• 1857 to 1870 'Sydney Mint' reverse, Type II obverse  
• 1871 to 1887 Shield reverse, Young Head obverse
• 1871 to 1887 St George reverse, Young Head obverse   
• 1887 to 1893 St George reverse, Jubilee Head obverse   
• 1893 to 1901 St George reverse, Veiled Head obverse

King Edward VII
• 1902 to 1910 St George reverse, Edward VII obverse

King George V
• 1911 to 1928 St George reverse, George V Large Head obverse
• 1929 to 1931 St George reverse, George V Small Head obverse

The half sovereign series has seven distinct types identified by their varying obverse and reverse designs.

Queen Victoria
• 1855 to 1856 'Sydney Mint' reverse, Type I obverse
• 1857 to 1866 'Sydney Mint' reverse, Type II obverse  
• 1871 to 1887 Shield reverse, Young Head obverse
• 1887 to 1893 St George reverse, Jubilee Head obverse   
• 1893 to 1901 St George reverse, Veiled Head obverse

King Edward VII
• 1902 to 1910 St George reverse, Edward VII obverse

King George V
• 1911 to 1918 St George reverse, George V obverse

Reverse = 'tails' side. Obverse = 'heads' side.
St George = St George & the Dragon.

GENUINELY RARE.

Irrespective of the year in which they were struck, and the mint at which they were produced, Australia's proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns are 'extremely rare'. Buying opportunities will always be severely limited. This article aims to quantify the term 'extremely rare'.

Coinworks completed an extensive study more than a decade ago on the availability of Australian proof gold. The data is reviewed and updated annually.

It is noted that proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns were struck at the discretion of the mint master and were not struck every year.

And while mint records indicate the striking of proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns on some occasions, their existence is questioned. They have never been sighted nor is there a record of a private sale having occurred.

It is estimated that there are a maximum of one hundred proof sovereigns available to collectors, covering the complete spectrum of dates from 1853 to 1931, a span of seventy-eight years. The estimate on proof half sovereigns (1853 to 1911) is sixty coins.

Compare their availability to our industry yardstick the 1930 Penny, where 1500 to 2000 examples are believed to exist. Or even a comparison to the Kookaburra Square Penny, struck between 1919 and 1921, where two hundred examples are believed available to collectors.

And while one hundred proof sovereigns and eighty proof half sovereigns represent a minuscule number for collectors to get their hands on, there are two other considerations that further limit their availability.

As proof sovereigns and proof half sovereigns shared the same design as those coins struck for commercial usage, some of the proofs have tragically filtered their way into circulation and have been grossly mishandled, thereby marring their quality. And reducing the pool of "as struck" proof gold coins. The 1855 Sydney Mint Proof Half Sovereign, an acknowledged proof that has accidentally circulated.

The second consideration is that great coins tend to be held for the long term. The owner of "The Madrid Collection of Australian Rare Coins" held onto his proof gold coins for more than twenty years. The Spalding family for even longer. So too Tom Hadley, of Quartermaster Collection fame.

The journey to acquire Australia’s proof sovereigns and proof half sovereign begins with the date 1853.

On the 19 August 1853 Queen Victoria gave formal approval to establish Australia’s very first mint at or near Sydney in New South Wales. In the same year, the Royal Mint London prepared designs of Australia’s first gold coinage and manufactured dies.

The sovereign obverse design was a filleted bust of Victoria, only slightly different to that used on British sovereigns and was designed by James Wyon. The reverse design was based loosely around contemporary reverse designs of the British sixpence and shilling and was designed by Leonard Charles Wyon. Its strong point of difference to the British sovereigns the inclusion of the words 'AUSTRALIA' and 'SYDNEY MINT'.

The Half Sovereign featured the same obverse and reverse design as the sovereign.

In 1853 the Royal Mint struck samples of what the new Australian sovereigns and half sovereigns would look like. The samples were struck to proof quality.

The starting point, therefore, for collecting proof coins from Australia’s sovereign series is 1853. And that is a challenging starting point for only one Proof 1853 Sovereign and one Proof 1853 Half Sovereign are held in private hands.

Unique in private hands.
Struck with a milled edge at the Royal Mint London, the Proof 1853 Sovereign featuring the Type I 'Sydney Mint' portrait design of Queen Victoria with a band in her hair.

1855 to 1856 - Sydney Mint reverse

The Royal Mint London struck proofs of the 1855 Sovereign and 1855 Half Sovereign, the coins struck with a milled edge. The Royal Mint also struck proofs of the 1856 Sovereign and Half Sovereign, but with a plain edge.

And while the 1855 and 1856 gold proofs feature the classic 'Sydney Mint' type one reverse, the coins were struck with the type two obverse, depicting Queen Victoria with a wreath of banksia leaves in her hair. 

• Three Proof 1855 Sovereigns and three Proof 1855 Half Sovereigns are privately held. (It is noted that one of the half sovereigns has circulated.)
• Only one Proof 1856 Sydney Mint Sovereign is held in collector’s hands. And two of the 1856 Proof Half Sovereign.

The experience of minting coins for more than 800 years shows in the Australian proofs struck at the Royal Mint London. They are without equal and are utterly magnificent.

Struck at the Royal Mint London with a milled edge, the Proof 1855 Sovereign featuring the Type II 'Sydney Mint' portrait of Queen Victoria with a wreath of banksia leaves in her hair.

1857 to 1870 – Sydney Mint reverse

During the era 1857 to 1870, the Royal Mint London struck Australia's proof sovereigns and half sovereigns. But infrequently.

Proof Sovereigns were struck in only 1857 (plain edge), 1866 (milled edge) and 1870 (plain edge). Proof half sovereigns were struck in only two years, 1857 (plain edge) and 1866 (milled edge).

Three examples are known of the Proof 1857 Sovereign. Two of the Proof 1866 Sovereign. The Proof 1870 Sovereign is unique, with no other known examples privately held or housed in museums anywhere in the world.

Three examples are known of the Proof 1857 Half Sovereign Sovereign and two of the Proof 1866 Sovereign.

The premise that Proof Sovereigns provide the connection to the past is exemplified in the Proof 1866 Sovereign and the Proof 1870 Sovereign.

The two known examples of the Proof 1866 Sovereign were discovered in London in the early 1970s, the coins having been especially struck to exhibit as ‘products of New South Wales’ as part of the Colonial Mints display at the International Colonial Exhibition of 1866 and the International Exposition in Paris, 1867. 

The Proof 1870 Sovereign is unique with no other examples known in private hands or museums. Its provenance can be traced back to three years after it was struck. The coin was sold at Sotheby’s London in 1873 as part of the deceased estate of civil servant, John Brodribb Bergne.

A Proof 1857 Sovereign struck with a milled edge is known. It is believed to have been struck in 1926 on the day the Sydney Mint closed.

Struck at the Royal Mint London with a plain edge, the Proof 1857 Sovereign featuring the Type II 'Sydney Mint' portrait design of Queen Victoria with a wreath of banksia leaves in her hair.

1871 to 1887 – Young Head portrait

By 1871 London had revoked approval for New South Wales to produce sovereigns with the distinctive 'Sydney Mint' design. The colony's sovereigns, on both obverse and reverse, were required to take on a traditional British style. 

British engraver, William Wyon, removed the banksia from Queen Victoria's hair. And two new reverse designs were introduced. The St George and the Dragon design of Benedetto Pistrucci and the Shield design of J. B. Merlen. The reverse designs ran concurrently.

To make a point of difference between the London minted sovereigns and those minted at the Sydney Mint, and eventually the Melbourne and Perth Mint, a small mint mark denoted the colonial issues. ('S' for Sydney. 'M' for Melbourne. 'P' for Perth.)

The Sydney Mint's production was supplemented in 1872 when a second branch of the Royal Mint London opened in William Street, Melbourne. And while the operation of two mints, Sydney and Melbourne, and two reverse designs (St George and Shield) might create a bountiful environment for the production of proof gold coins, this was far from the case. 

Only six proof sovereigns featuring the Shield reverse and Young Head portrait combination are known. Slightly more opportunities for collectors are found in the St George reverse and Young Head portrait combination. Seven proof sovereigns are known and two sovereigns struck to specimen quality.

The Shield reverse was the only design used on Australia's half sovereigns during the Young Head era. Only eight proof half sovereigns featuring the Shield reverse and Young Head portrait combination are known.

Perhaps one of the most momentous changes to occur during this era was that the nation's proof sovereigns were now struck in Australia. Between 1853 and up to and including 1870, Australia's proof sovereigns were struck at the Royal Mint London.

The Proof 1871 Sovereign and Proof 1871 Half Sovereign were the very first proof coins struck in Australia. Enhancing their value, they are unique.

The Proof 1871 Sovereign struck at the Sydney Mint with the Young Head portrait of Queen Victoria and the St George and the Dragon reverse. As the Royal Mint London struck Australia's proofs from 1853 and up to and including 1870, this Proof 1871 Sovereign is the very first proof coin struck in Australia. 

1887 to 1893 - Jubilee Head portrait

Victoria became Queen of the British Empire on 20 June 1837 and her golden jubilee celebrated fifty years to the day, on 20 June 1887.

A new sovereign portrait was designed by (later Sir) Joseph Edgar Boehm to replace the Young Head portrait. The new design drew inordinate criticism for Victoria’s apparent scowling look and the precarious balancing of her crown. The design only lasted six years.

The year 1887 also saw the dropping of the Shield reverse on Australia's sovereigns. All Jubilee Head Proof Sovereigns were struck with only the St George and the Dragon reverse. The Shield reverse was however maintained on the half sovereign.

As with the Young Head era, we see the unpredictability of proof sovereign and half sovereign production in the Jubilee era.

The Sydney Mint opted to produce proof sovereigns in the first year of the design, 1887. And the last year of the design, 1893. The same years record production of half sovereigns. 

The Melbourne Mint opted out of striking proof sovereigns in 1891 and 1892 and, of the remaining years, minimal numbers of proof sovereigns are known. Proof Half Sovereigns of the Melbourne Mint have been sighted in each of the years of the Jubilee era.

Our experiences attest to their scarcity. We have not sold a Sydney Mint  Jubilee Proof Sovereign or Half Sovereign. And only two sovereigns from the Melbourne Mint, 1888 and 1889. And three half sovereigns from the Melbourne Mint, 1887, 1891 and 1893.

Struck at the Melbourne Mint with a milled edge, the Proof 1888 Sovereign.

1893 to 1901- Veiled Head portrait

It is said that British collector John G. Murdoch, had an 'in' with the Melbourne Mint during the Veiled Head era and was supplying his own gold blanks for the Melbourne Mint to produce proof sovereigns and half sovereigns specifically for him.

Thank you John G. Murdoch!

For if it was not for his involvement, proof gold coins out of this era would be almost unavailable to today's collector market.

The coins are a tad more available than other sectors ... but only a tad ... making the Veiled Head Proof Sovereigns and Half Sovereigns the perfect entry point for collectors seeking to acquire a piece of proof gold.

Realistically we might sight one Veiled Head Proof Sovereign (or Half Sovereign) on the market every one to two years.

As the table reveals, the stand-out mint for the buyer looking for extreme rarity in the Veiled Head series, is the Sydney Mint. Next in line for rarity is the Perth Mint that opened in 1899, six years into the Veiled Head era.

Struck at the Melbourne Mint, and featuring the mature Veiled Head portrait of Queen Victoria. Introduced in 1893, the design lasted until her passing in 1901.

1902 to 1910 - Edward VII portrait

The proof gold sovereigns and proof gold half sovereigns of King Edward VII are inordinately scarce. Our experiences attest to their scarcity. We have only sold two King Edward VII proof sovereigns in a career that spans fifty-plus years. And we have never sold an Edward VII proof half sovereign.

The infrequent sightings of King Edward VII gold proofs are explained by the following information.

Proof Half Sovereigns were only struck in 1902, during the reign of Edward VII.

Records indicate that Proof Sovereigns were struck in three out of the nine years, 1902, 1904 and 1910. The 1904 Proof Sovereign has never been sighted and there is doubt as to its existence.

The only known privately held examples of the Edward VII Proof Sovereign are as follows:

• The 1902 Proof Sovereign struck at the Sydney Mint. A matte proof example, ex Dangar and Hagley, sold at Spink Auctions in November 1989 for $9100.

• The industry acknowledges that a brilliant proof sovereign may also have been struck at the Sydney Mint in 1902.

• The 1902 Proof Sovereign struck at the Melbourne Mint. A brilliant proof sovereign that surfaced in 1998. The supporting memorabilia accompanying the coin indicates that it was struck by Sir George Sydenham Clarke on 3 January 1902, Sydenham Clark, the then Governor of Victoria. Unique in private hands, the coin was sold by Coinworks in 2020 to a New Zealand collector.

• The 1910 Proof Sovereign struck at the Melbourne Mint. The former property of renowned gold coin specialists Ross Pratley and Barrie Winsor. Unique in private hands, the coin was sold by Coinworks in 2014 to a private collector in Perth.

Proof 1902 Sovereign struck at the Melbourne Mint. A unique proof striking discovered in 1998.

1911 to 1931 - George V portrait

The portrait of George V appeared on Australia’s sovereigns from 1911 to 1931. The original portrait was modified in 1929 and remained until Australia struck its very last sovereign in 1931. The original design is dubbed the 'large head', the modified design the 'small head' portrait.

Three Australian mints, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth operated throughout the George V era.

The Perth Mint did not strike any proof sovereigns with the George V ‘large head’ portrait (1911 to 1928). And of the ensuing era, the Perth Mint only struck proof sovereigns in 1931, with two coins thought to exist.

The Melbourne Mint only struck proof sovereigns with the George V ‘large head’ portrait in 1911, with one believed to exist. And of the ensuing era, the Melbourne struck proof sovereigns in each of the years 1929, 1930 and 1931 with three of each thought to exist.

it is the Sydney Mint that has drawn the most attention in the George V era.

The official reports from the Mint Master of the Sydney Mint to the Royal Mint London in the George V era reveal a mint that was quite literally going out of business. As indeed it eventually did in 1926 when the Sydney Mint closed its doors and shut down its coining operations, the irony being that a mint could go broke making coins.

The most famous George V proof sovereign struck at the Sydney Mint is that minted in 1920. A unique striking, the Proof 1920 Sovereign sold at the Quartermaster Auction in 2009 for $844,000.

The only other Sydney Mint presentation strikings in this era occurred in 1922, 1923 and in 1926 the year of its closing, the sovereigns struck to specimen quality.

Proof Half Sovereigns were only struck in 1911, during the reign of George V.

The Proof 1930 Sovereign struck at the Melbourne Mint and featuring the 'small head' portrait. One of three known, the coin is compelling.