1887 Sydney Jubilee Head Half Sovereign Good Extra Fine

Description

The 1887 Jubilee Head Half Sovereign holds a unique place in Australian numismatic history – this is the inaugural year of the Jubilee Head portrait type, introduced across the British sovereign series to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887, and the Sydney Mint issue of that first year carries all the significance and appeal that an opening date commands. Struck in the very year of the Jubilee celebrations, this small gold coin is a direct product of one of the most momentous occasions in the Victorian era. That an example should survive nearly 140 years in Good Extremely Fine condition — a full grade above the standard EF — is a remarkable circumstance, and one that elevates this coin well above the ordinary.

Obverse: The Jubilee Head portrait of Queen Victoria by Joseph Edgar Boehm, depicting the crowned and veiled Queen in a markedly more mature representation than the long-running Young Head it replaced, with the legend VICTORIA DEI GRATIA and the S mintmark for Sydney.

Reverse: The shield reverse design used on half sovereigns of this period, with the crowned and quartered royal arms within a decorated shield, the date 1887 below — a distinctly different reverse treatment from the full sovereign’s St George and the Dragon and one that lends the half sovereign its own particular character and collectability.

Composition: 22-carat gold (916.7 fine) Weight: 3.99 g Diameter: 19.30 mm