Excellent video with plenty of info,I would like to know,if you are buying sovereigns as a bullion investment would it not be easier just to measure and weigh to spot fakes?
Thank you for the informative video. I really like the video's of your channel, they are to the point and are very factual. I hope you have time to create the follow up video's on 'How to identify a fake sov' soon :)
I have just acquired a 2014 gold Sovereign that has a thickness of around 1.82mm in a particular area. Thru a loupe I can see that where is was stamped, the was little material left on the rim. The weight is correct and the Diameter is 21.90mm. Does this happen on some of these? My 2015 has a bit of the same issue where there is a little rim from pressing the Sovereign when minted. Measure 1.74mm in some places. I wanted to see if this is normal or if I should be concerned.
These are on my list, A 1 Oz Silver Britannia ( £2 ) and a 1 Oz Gold Britannia ( £100, I think ). These are .999 Fine Gold or Silver. I use Cotton gloves to handle them if they are not already sealed. That is very informative. The Britannias wil probably be my one foray outside of US Coins, but then again, we'll see. :-)
Thank you for commenting. Have you watched our video about Britannias? The Royal Mint started producing Britannias in 0.999 fineness (gold and silver ) in 2013, but some of the older coins have beautiful designs and have a sharper finish than more recent bullion issues. If you'd like some more information, please let us know, we'd be happy to assist you.
So a 1918 sovereign doesn't exist. But neither did a 1952 half-crown until one was discovered in Canada in the 1960s. So can you be 100% certain that the sovereign is really a fake? What convinces you that it is?
Thank you sir. I bought a 1959 sovereign in MS64 graded by NGC on eBay. I have some people on the silver forum checked the number on the slab and it shows up as being real. As an American, I know nothing about sovereigns as I'm more of pre-33 guy.
Buying Sovereigns on ebay these days is a very risky business, if you know nothing about them. The amount of fakes is staggering, and is better and safer to buy only from good dealers such as chards.
***** We don't confiscate coins but we would offer to buy them for the metal value - usually 90% of intrinsic. We have a large container of fake coins which we use for training purposes. They are never resold. Have you come across any counterfeit coins?
my nan recently gave me what was too be my mums coins, who i just lost..she is 90yrs old and has just given me an Edward Vii. its a 1909 with the p in the mess above it. is this real as your video mentions nothing of this as a marker, it weighs 7.8/7.9grms
Sorry for your loss Willzy. The P is the mint mark and designates it as a Perth Mint sovereign. There were perth mint sovereigns produced in 1909. Our website with contact details is www.chards.co.uk if you need more information. Apologies for the lateness of the reply.
Assuming the sovereign was issued in a valid year and valid mint, it is sufficient to verify its authenticity by the three measurables: weight, diameter and thickness?
Sorry that is not correct many years ago yes, but not now. There are some very dangerous fakes out there, that are so good, even top experts have been caught out. I have collected these pieces for over 40 years, and consider myself to be pretty good at spotting them, but even NGC and PCG slabbing have been caught out. weight diameter and thickness and mint mark are the basic tests, but their is a lot more then that believe me. Unless you know what to look for in a genuine Sovereign, buy only from such as Chards spinks baldwins, and other good top bullion dealers. But always remember, even the best can slip up, people are only human, but at least they will replace it if found to be fake.
I have a couple of 1/4 Sovereign coins any way to know if they are real? It’s been confirmed that is 22k gold but no one has had the knowledge to know whether it’s real or copy’s any help
Thanks for the video, recently bought a Half Sovereign 1911 and confirmed it is indeed real, plan on buying a 1oz Britannia soon along with more Sovereigns :)
+Brad Phipps The catalogue value is £475 in uncirculated condition. This would not generally be the price that you would achieve if you were to sell the coin.
I wonder why Mr chard made this film. It shows nothing that is any help to anyone about spotting forgeries. There are a great deal of different fake sovereigns around, and this film gives such obvious forgeries its not much help. All this program does is show his business. The only help for the novice was about incorrect dates, where sovereigns were never minted. Getting spinks book of British coins will give the novice all that information and more.
I have a sovereign that is likely fake but looks right, weighs the right amount to within 1/100th of a gram and xrf testing showed it was 22k gold. It's an 1877 s st george. Apparently the krause coin directory lists a few that were struck so they do exist but I can't find a picture anywhere to compare it to. I don't suppose you guys would know where I might find a picture in an old catalogue or something? I've shown it to a couple local dealers and they've told me that it looks good, definitely not a cast jewelers copy or anything. They certainly aren't saying it's real, just that it's high enough quality to investigate. Obviously is likely to be a fake but who would counterfeit a coin that would immediately raise eyebrows in a bank or at a dealer? It doesn't make much sense to me. Any help you could provide would be greatfully accepted.
Hi I did have to laugh at chard. He is a great person to speak too, but sadly as you said he has told the viewer nothing on how to spot fake sovereigns, which is what the program was about. In fairness however It is a big subject and would take a long time to explain all types that are around. But he could have explained some of the more common types around, ie such as an 1895 date with George V head . These pieces were made in Italy in the 1970s I worked at the Royal mint in the late 1960s and worked on making the Mary Gillick Sovereigns and other pre- decimal coins.