Unique pair of Proof 1883 Queen Victoria Young Head Shield Sovereign and Half Sovereign, Sydney Mint
Reverse of the 1883 S Proof Half Sovereign with the ‘S’ (for Sydney Mint).
The story about this Holey Dollar is narrated on our web site. Rumours had circulated about the coin for decades. A prized piece, recognised as one of the rarest and absolute best Holey Dollars, it was presumed lost.
Equally exciting I knew M. R. Roberts had also sold the same collector an ‘About Uncirculated’ 1813 Dump. The finest of the A/1 type Dumps … also presumed lost.
And we secured both the Holey Dollar and the Dump for private sale.
What I didn’t know was that the collector had acquired a Proof 1883 Queen Victoria Young Head Shield Sovereign and its half sovereign counterpart, the Proof 1883 Queen Victoria Young Head Shield Half Sovereign, from M. R. Roberts in the 1980s.
Both coins were struck at the Sydney Mint.
The pair is unique.
Obverse of the 1893 S Proof Half Sovereign depicting the 'Young head' portrait of Queen Victoria.
Some thirty years after they were acquired from M. R. Roberts, they are now available for private sale through Coinworks.
The charts below detail the extreme rarity of gold proofs in this area of the market. It’s a rarity that is borne out by our own experiences.
In terms of the proof Young Head Shield sovereigns we have sold the 1885M Proof Sovereign only. The offering of the Proof 1883S Sovereign makes it the second in this area of the market. And these quantities pertain to 40+ years of trading.
In terms of the proof Young Head Shield half sovereigns, we have sold the 1871S Proof Half Sovereign, an 1880S Proof Half Sovereign and an 1884M Proof Half Sovereign. The offering of the Proof 1883S Half Sovereign makes it the fourth in this area of the market. And again, these quantities pertain to 40+ years of trading.
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