Owner Comments:
S-?, Marsh ?
Acquired from: Heritage
Means: Auction 61298, Lot 25156
Date: 27 November 2022
Critique: The very low mintage "Piedfort" double thickness gold sovereign, in perfect condition. Only 3250 of these very special coins were minted, making it extremely rare right out of the box. For some reason, American collectors don't seem to understand that a Piedfort sovereign contains double the amount of gold as a normal sovereign, since they don't command much of a premium during auctions over here. I was able to purchase this gem for only $200 over the price that it was sold from The Royal Mint, which is quite a bargain for a PF70 sovereign of any type. In addition, for this ridiculously low price, I also received the original elegant wooden case, and the COA (coin #1959).
The price I paid included a rather hefty 20% "buyer's premium". In actuality, the price I bid was $100 LESS than the coin was sold for by The Royal Mint, so the poor fellow who submitted this for auction actually lost a significant amount of money when you consider the 10% seller's fee that the auction company deducted from my bid, the cost of having the coin graded by NGC, and the cost of mailing the coin to the auctioneer. I estimate that when all expenses are added up, he took a 20% to 25% loss on his investment. I'm sure he learned a valuable lesson on the economics of selling Piedforts in America, and will never make that mistake again. Sad...