Owner Comments:
S-SC11, Marsh 349 (Rare)
Acquired from: Heritage
Means: Auction 66172, Lot 99136
Date: 31 December 2023
Critique: The very low mintage "Piedfort" double thickness gold sovereign, in perfect condition. The special reverse design commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Pistrucci sovereign, which first appeared in 1817. Only 3484 of these very special coins were minted, making it extremely rare right out of the box. A year ago, American collectors didn't seem to understand that a Piedfort sovereign contains double the amount of gold as a normal sovereign, since they didn't command much of a premium during auctions over here. However this coin did go for a fair amount over melt value, so apparently collectors are getting more savvy.
What's astonishing is that the auction company still doesn't describe what this coin actually is. For examples of prior sales of comparable coins, they simply listed several normal size 2017 sovs in PF70UC. In the fine print, they do make note of the total gold weight being 0.4707oz, which is a clue to those paying careful attention. Still, it's a rather dismal performance by supposed professional numismatists in world coins! The consignor of this nice piece really should have expected better service.
The holder indicates that this coin was one of the first 250 struck, and so the images are quite sharp since the dies were fresh. The included COA shows this coin as being #107.
Looks like this will be the last coin added to my collection in 2023. Happy New Year everybody!