Owner Comments:
Acquired from: Heritage
Means: Auction 232416, Lot 63313
Date: 18 April 2024
Critique: On 14 November 2023, to celebrate King Charles III’s 75th birthday, a very special issue of gold sovereigns was released. The Royal Mint limited production to a maximum of 750 coins, with both the obverse and reverse featuring a frosted matte finish. The coins bear the official coinage portrait of King Charles III. This release marks a significant event as it is the first time in over 200 years of gold sovereign history that the birthday of a reigning British king has been commemorated in this manner.
One thing I find curious about this is that nowhere on the coin itself does it indicate anything about the King's birthday. So if not for the NGC label, I don't know how anyone would know what this was, unless it was still in the original case with COA. On the Royal Mint website, it lists the original issue price as £850, which was quite a significant premium over gold bullion price. I paid far less than that, even after adding on the auction company's 20% Buyer's Extortion, so the consignor probably lost about 40% of his investment, considering the cost to have the coin graded and the commission charged to auction it. Very disappointing. I'm quite surprised at how cheaply this coin sold, since as of 04/2024 there are only a mere 56 examples certified by NGC in the top grade, 41 being the coveted First Releases (FR) and the remaining 15 being leftovers. I wonder if the coin would have sold for a more reasonable amount in a British auction?
As a rule, I don't collect mint state sovereigns past 1978, since I prefer to have proof versions of modern issues. However, I do make a few exceptions. In this case, I was attracted to this piece since I've never owned one of the Royal Mint's "Struck on the Day" issues commemorating various important events, nor have I ever owned a matte finish coin. Also, it's always interesting to pick up an example of rare items, and any modern issue limited to 750 is certainly extremely rare.