United Kingdom Gold Sovereigns -- Date Set
1974

Owner Comments:

S-SC1, Marsh 307

Acquired from: The Coin Cabinet
Means: Auction 101, Lot 52
Date: 23 January 2024

Critique: Very fine-looking example of this first sovereign of the "decimal" era. In honor of this occasion, the much-beloved Gillick image of the Queen was replaced with a new version showing her wearing a tiara instead of a hair ribbon.

I acquired this coin to replace a lower-graded filler that I purchased in 2022, since nothing better was available at the time. Surprisingly, there was very little interest in this relatively high-grade example, and I was able to get it for just a couple of hundred US$ over melt. A Gillick coin in MS66 would sell for two to three times as much, so it would seem that hair ribbons are much more popular than diamond tiaras for ladies. A rather surprising observation ...