Owner Comments:
S-3829B, Marsh 18 (Scarce)
Acquired from: Heritage
Means: Auction 3101, Lot 35729
Date: 28 August 2022
Critique: Expensive coin that had too much eye appeal to pass up. The obverse is nice, and the reverse is almost pristine. This date of King William IV has fewer examples certified by NGC than any other except 1835, and thus both of those dates receive the highest scores in competition. Over a million coins were minted in 1833, which is more than half of the other dates in this series, so it's not clear why it seems to be scarcer to come by.
Like all sovs of Wm IV starting in 1833, this coin displays the second bust, with nose pointing to the letter I in the legend. The reverse shows the very wide shield containing the coat of arms of the House of Hanover, which first appeared on gold sovs towards the end of 1825.
This coin was offered in a special major auction by this company, which always draws quite a large number of bidders, so I knew it was going to be rather expensive to win. In the end, it cost me full catalog value, but it's such a pretty item that I just couldn't resist.