Collecting gold sovereigns

Gold sovereigns are a beautiful coin, and as a collectors item some are exceedingly hard to obtain, even harder than the famous 1930 Penny. The reason is that there are few in high grade, and they are in collections that do not sell them. These coins are also so highly prized, that they are unlikely to show up on eBay in high grade if at all. However many rare dates do come, and do appeal in cerified (slabbed) condition.Here are the main reasons to buy certified coins

- Certified as authentic coins and graded by professionals

- Holders protect your coin from damage or a coin switch

- Prices are more likely to be competitive when reselling

GRADING SOVEREIGNS

Sometimes you will really like a gold sovereign you see on eBay, but it isn't certified. What to do then ? I only have one word for you:

BEWARE !

Many gold sovereigns arrive with rim nicks or knocks, slight wear which wasn't visible even on high res images, detracting marks, bagmarks you couldn't see (big ones are the real problem) and last but MOST importnat - lack of LUSTRE. A truly UNC gold coin will have a beautiful yellow or even orangey gold glow which is usually evident in a photo once you see it a few times.

BIDDING WARS

Avoid them ! items which start at $1 can easily sell for more than the same item starting at $499. I see it ALL the time. Collectors who have a McDonalds catalogue and have learned to grade sovereigns will see EBAY items which go for MORE than book value. There's one selling right now for over $450, 1877 S Shield - clearly has WEAR and shows $500 aUNC in the book. You decide if this is a good buy !

I try to list certified sovereigns at HALF the corresponding book price. This is getting harder. USA dealers often obtain these sovereigns in the states, as many coins were owned or bought by americans. Australian dealers are now frequently buying up their stock, as I sometimes do myself.

You are far better to know what you are bidding on, buy at a high start price and have NOONE outbid you. The shield sovereign is at a high price due to bidders all FOLLOWING each other like sheep ! one bids it up and others follow. One reason is WORTH, people think it must be worth bidding up. The other reason is HEART, they get it in their heart they want to own that coin, so they ignore their head saying "stop bidding" and away they go.

This needs a separate guide - how to get good deals on eBay !

Wear & Cleaning

For the novice CLEANED sovereigns can be hard to spot. Get at least 10x magnification and good light. Tilt the coin and look for fine scratches. Look for evidence of dirt in the design yet no dirt in the fields where it's easy to get at and clean. Professionals CAN clean coins without doing damage. 99.9% of the rest of us CANNOT and should not try, especially on soft 22carat gold coins ! it immediately induces heavy wear.

WEAR is very hard to ascertain for the beginner. Look at slabbed coins, use eBay stores with slabbed sovereigns such as my own, to compare a high res image of a coin with no wear (use a coin of the same date and/or type) and look at it for a long time. You look for flat spots and such. The real trick however only comes with experience - the high points of the coin need to be checked closely to really grade a coin.

PCGS NGC and ANACS grade sovereigns fairly - I primarily collect these as a hobby. Go for those in that order, PCGS sovereigns rarely show up on eBay but NGC sovereigns are common and worth inspecting. Some are not as good as others, so demand big scans. Look for described marks and information from the seller, check their feedback size and percentage and how much they sell.

Finally, stick to Australian sovereigns if you want rare gold like me ! I recommend the years that I collect and offer for sale, in the 1860's and 70's. These sovereigns have $3000 UNC and up, most are at least $1750 in UNC. A full collection will be very valuable ! enjoy your gold :)