Owner Comments:
S-3853B, Marsh 55, Die #29
Acquired from: Heritage
Means: Auction 3106, Lot 33764
Date: 18 January 2023
Critique: When I first saw this coin coming up for auction, I was impressed to see an old Victoria sovereign in MS64, and I expected that would make it a Top Pop for sure. But when I checked the NGC census, I found that there have been more than 50 coins graded higher, and over 100 in MS64! I was rather shocked, but apparently this coin survived in outstanding condition in remarkable numbers. Then I noticed that this date had the third highest mintage of any "shield back" sovereign, so that would account for such a high survival rate.
Normally I would have just skipped this offering and waited for one of the many MS65 examples to show up, but I was intrigued by a very strange flaw which shows up right above the numeral 7 in the date. This looks almost like a very tiny 7, and appears to be raised rather than a gouge. This is one time I'd really love to be able to examine the coin in person rather than just trying to guess what's going on in a picture, but the coin was 3000 miles away and not worth the trip to inspect! The anomaly is not any kind of die crack, like the rather lengthy one running through the initial numeral 1. There is also rather extensive evidence of a die clash, which may have involved the ribbon in Victoria's hair leaving a long ghost impression on the reverse. When the coin arrived and I was able to examine it from several different angles, it was sadly apparent that this odd feature above the date is simply a clean gouge in the surface of the coin, and not raised at all. That was merely a trick of the lighting. Just another reminder that coin images can be deceptive, and even the best pictures online are no substitute for examining a coin in your own hand. Caveat emptor indeed.
Given the relatively huge number of MS64 and MS65 coins graded, I expected this one to sell for a fairly low price. But ... unfortunately it was offered in one of the largest and most prestigious auctions of world coins of the year, the NYINC sale. This is always very heavily attended by way too many people with way too much money to spend on their collections, and that's a disaster for minor players like me. Apparently some other collector of oddities fancied this coin, and we got in a bidding war that ended up doubling the price I would have paid in a less well-publicized auction. That's too bad. But except for the small tattoo on Victoria's neck and a scratch on the front of the coin holder, it's not a bad-looking piece and I'm happy to have it. In general, I need to remember to avoid this auction in the future. It's simply not a wise use of limited funds...