1870 Sydney Mint Sovereign Fine

Description

The 1870 Sydney Mint Sovereign in Fine condition is precisely what a well-travelled colonial gold coin should be – honest, original, and carrying the marks of a working life spent in the commerce of a young and energetic society. By 1870 the sovereign was the lifeblood of everyday trade across New South Wales, changing hands in counting houses, stores, and pastoral settlements across the colony. A Fine example from this year is a coin that circulated freely and fully, wearing evenly and naturally until it was eventually set aside – emerging today as an unpretentious and genuinely original piece of Australian monetary history.

Obverse: The laureate young head of Queen Victoria by William Wyon, with the legend VICTORIA D G BRITT REG F D encircling the portrait within a milled border.

Reverse: Pistrucci’s St George and the Dragon with the date 1870 in the exergue – the reverse design that has defined the sovereign for over two centuries.

Grade: Fine (F)