Does anyone know which issue year did sovereigns start to look coppery? I'm slowly stacking sovereigns here and am strictly avoiding coppery looking ones.
@@andrecc1996 It looks like it was in 2000 that the composition changed. I can't find a definitive answer but that info came from the Britannia coin company. The only other info I found was this: www.chards.co.uk/guides/analysis-of-alloy-content-of-gold-sovereigns/180
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher Thanks, that's a great info. Well, I do have one 2007 sov, and it does seem a bit different in color compared to my other older sovs. I'll just continue sticking with older sovs then 😁
@@andrecc1996 I have bought a few newer ones (featured in recent videos) simply because they were the last for the Queen and first for Charles, but the older ones are my usual got to.
It might still be worth getting the crowned variant, as they could become a future collectable. Take a look at the 1/4oz Royal Cypher instead, It's .9999 gold and could also be a future collectable. I've got one and just ordered another. Here's a link if you're in the US: www.jmbullion.com/2023-1-4-oz-british-gold-coronation-of-the-king-coin/
This was a great video showing the difference!👍👍 I could definitely see how non coin enthusiasts could mistake a modern rose gold sovereign for not being a gold coin.
Nice to see the two compared to each other. Fortunately, there are plenty of the older gold color ones to buy on the market if preferred. Thanks for showing!
Hi, Cyber. Yesterday was my son's anniversary of his operation. We are very grateful he has done so well. He was going to have a party yesterday, but we have been dealing with a bad wildfire in our area. We had to evacuate our home last Monday. The fire came within a half mile of our home. We had ash falling on our property. The firefighters have done a Herculian job keeping the fire out of our town. They had to bulldoze a fireline down the entire west side of town. They also dropped retardant slurry across the terrain. The fire came right up to the fireline but was held back. I had a heck of a time moving my silver. Too much weight and bulk to deal with in an emergency situation. I have now decided to lighten my load. I will keep my fav collections, but I will not keep more than one monster box of Eagles and a small box of silver proof State Quarters as my silver stack. This has been an eye-opening situation for us. We need to work on being better prepared for emergencies. We seem to be fine now. The fire burned all the fuel by us. We feel reasonably safe from being overrun now. Our biggest concern is air quality. If we can breathe, we will ride this fire out. I will keep you informed. TTYS, D.
Thanks for the update Donald. I have been following your situation in other comments. Yes, i can see why you want to rethink your stacking. Glad to hear your son is doing ok.
it's rose gold, it's only the colour. Some like rose gold, but others prefer brass coloured gold. It's Hobson's choice, as to what you like, but they all contain 22ct gold.
If you've seen my recent videos, I've bought gold from ATS bullion whom i would highly recommend. I've also bought it from Bullion by post and Atkinsons in the past. Without a doubt, my best deals have always been from a local shop though. I haven't bought silver from any big uk online dealer in years due to them charging VAT. That has been sourced either peer to peer, coin shop, or from one of the many online groups like uk silver stackers etc. If you need any further help you can always drop me an email.
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher Thanks for the response, will take you up on the email, where can I find that? I recently bought from The Pure Gold Company and Atkinsons, although I think the premiums were very high so looking for alternatives. Also bit nervous on their delivery process as taken more than a week to come through. I didn’t know there were small coin dealers! I live in Essex so not sure if we have them down here, you know the best way to search for them? Thanks again!
@@Dedicated_.1 My email is in my "about" tab on my channel. When i was on holiday in Yorkshire i googled coin shops and antique dealers in the area. I'm sure there must be something near you. There's at least 3 places i can buy gold in my town and 2 coin shops.
It makes no difference about the colour of sovereigns. They are all 22ct gold. Old and new are pyx tested, and this is done to make sure they are correct weight and 22ct gold. Brass was used as the alloy, from late Victorian period, and copper was used along with Brass from George V reign. Silver was only used in the early Australian sovereign. I know all this, because I worked at the Royal mint during the 1960s
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher Yes agreed, but the carrot of gold is exactly the same, no matter if it's modern or old. The alloy mixed with the gold, in the old days depended on what the mint received, no more no less, but the carrot of gold is exactly the same. Pyx checks are always done, to make sure the carrot is exact.
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher Well if they want to buy new sovereigns at any times, they will have to except it. But it's only the colour. There are people who like the rose colour type gold, but as said, it's still the same 22ct gold.
THANK YOU. Finally some one else being as honest as I think about these inferior IMO, sovereigns. My Granddads 1980s Sovereigns... Even the 22ct have a beautiful Gold Hue and are stunning IMO. and every time you put any older Sovereign next to a new design looks literally stupid with the increased copper content and reduced Silver. So annoyed and think the Royal Mint has made a mistake on the new coins and if I'm to get any more Gold Sovs, I will defiantly look at older coins because of the beautiful Golden Hue. - Once again thank you for a great insightful video :)
I really like the design on the reverse of the Sovereigns. Definitely prefer 24K, but if I had to settle for less, I'd be ok with the copper content in the new Sovereigns, as I like the shiny better than the matte finish. Thanks for showcasing these, CCT! 👍
Always buy older ones ,sheild backs always hold there value ,,,I remember buying them for £100 now , anything over £400,,,even when gold goes down they still hold the value 👍
Totally agree! I have some fractional coins such as Britannia's but also have a 1/2oz America Eagle, so I was aware of the slight color difference. However I decided to buy a sovereign and as the 2022 memorial was the lowest price I chose to go for that. When i received it I couldn't believe it, the design coupled with the bright coppery color makes it look so cheap, almost like a child's play money. So I sold it, put 20 to the sale and got myself a nice Victorian sovereign instead. Since then I've bought a few 19th century European 900 gold coins most of which contain 5.8g gold. There are some really nice designs and I like the idea of getting a piece of gold history at a reasonable price.
Yes, the horrible colour and proof like finish really spoilt the new sovereigns. Glad you switched yours out for an older one. I never really gave that any thought & might do that with a few of mine. I know many gold coins contain some copper (Krugerrand for example) but none look as red as the sovereigns when I've held them together.
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher Thanks for the reply. Actually thinking about it, I actually bought the "replacement" Victoria sovereign before selling the memorial one, then waited a few weeks until the price was right to sell. That might be the way to go for you if you can afford to, pick out a couple you don't really like and put them aside, and buy their replacements. Then when gold prices rise you can sell and not feel like you're depleting your stock because you just swopped two for two nicer coins?
@@thewildgoose7467 The one's I'd sell would be like the 2015 in the video. Bought when gold was way lower than today, so the price i get for it would be a lot more than i paid back then. I will be keeping the commemorative 2022 & 2023 sovereigns and double sovereign in the hope they become future collectables. Those coins are featured in a newer video of mine .
Yep I agree I’ve got a 2022 queeny anniversary sovereign and that is very rose coloured! I’ve found the 2021 sovereigns to still be a nice proper yellow gold so I’m buying those currently. Very valid point about how easy it could be to get the copper coloured ones mixed up with pennies! Thanks for sharing again my friend. Very best wishes 👍🏽👍🏽😎
Yes, all 22k but they have changed the alloy. I believe they used to mix the gold with silver and more recently they have mixed it with copper. Да все 22к но они поменяли сплав. Я полагаю, что раньше они смешивали золото с серебром, а совсем недавно - с медью.
I guess I have no idea the colors change that drastically from one carat to the other. And you’re right, not very appealing it on a coin! Appreciate you sharing that my friend
thanks for sharing! cannot agree more! I don’t know why I am buying copper gold coin either?! I hesitate on the new King Charles sovereign coin. As much as I adore Jody Clark’s design, I really do not like the fact that it is not pure gold! or maybe it is King Charles also 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Ah The CCT Silver slide is good for distinguishing the copper coated steel from the pure pennys. Very cool. I agree with you about the modern sovereigns. I don't know why the Royal Mint would do that.
I'm not sure exactly how many centuries they were struck in the original composition, but it sure seemed a silly move to change it. I wouldn't be surprised if my lcs declined to buy the new ones. I'll have a chat with him about it next time i go.
I like the rose gold double sovs. Some of my favorite coins, but I might have a hard time getting spot for them in the USA if I tried to sell. Thx for the vid.
Funnily enough i nearly picked up an older double sovereign a while back but bought that half ounce Britannia instead. I'd still like to get one if we have another reasonable dip.
Hi CCT, I'm with you on fourth and fifth portrait, bullion sovereigns. I never liked the fully "polished" look of RM bullion, and in response to complaints for Britannias and others, they later introduced patterns to break up the easily marred shiny surfaces. So I collect BU sovereigns with lustre up to 1978 and only proof coins thereafter. The proof coins don't seem to have that weird colour.
Damn. I'm in Sweden and just put in an order, excluding the 1st Portrait (Mary Gillick, 1953-1968), as I just don't like it, as well as the 4th Portrait (Ian Rank-Broadley, 1998-2015). So now, if I get 5th Portrait coins I run the risk of diluting my sovereign collection with rose-tinted metal! 😫 Personally, I absolutely like the 2nd Portrait (Arnold Machin, 1974-1984) the best! 🙂
In the old day's, when gold sovereigns were in use, some were copper coloured, others were more brass coloured. It all depended on what alloy that mint received. Copper was the normal alloy, but sometimes silver was used, because silver was not that valuable in those days, and was used. Today all the Charles 111 sovereigns use copper, which makes them look more coppery then the old days, but are all 22ct gold.
Why do the modern sovereigns look so red? There are plenty of historical coins that are 90% gold, and 10% copper, and they don't look red. The pre-1933 US gold had 10% copper, no silver, and they looked GOLD. They have a slightly orange hue from the copper, but it still looked like gold. But all these modern sovereigns have LESS copper, but are still more RED (or rose). I feel like there must be something else going on here.
I know what you mean. From what I understand, the new sovereigns just have copper in them, unlike the earlier ones that had copper and silver, which is why the new ones look more red.
One thing I can't stand is the change. A government should not change their branded standard coin because it muddies the brand. Sure coin art can change maybe but ideally it wouldn't, the one thing that should absolutely not be changed is the metal content/makeup because that changes the sound it makes when ringed which is the go-to method of testing in the absence of tech.
I have to confess that I've bought a few new sovereigns, simply because they commemorate the late Queen and also the new king, and that might make them more sought after for future generations.
I have fractional Krugerrands and still don't think they are as coppery as the new sovs. I wonder if they have changed composition too, as i remember my dad having them and don't remember the old ones looking like copper.
Makes no difference to the price, since the gold contains the value just the same, but I agree that the change is unwelcome. Someone in an office somewhere just trying to think of another way to mess stuff up!
I too don't like the modern gold the RM uses - to me it looks 'sludgy' and unattractive. I have a Charles III half sovereign. It's likely to be the only issue where Charles is wearing a crown, so numismatic value, ect. Gold should look like gold, not copper! Blimey, even 9ct has more of a lustre , so i don't know what they're doing with these new sovereigns. Gold is around 80 times more valuable than silver, and the little bit they use in a 22ct alloy is price negligible. Penny pinching sacrificing the true beauty of gold.
Yea it is right, when you buy gold you want it to be gold, it has its own colour and everyhting, its like a lady in a lumberjack shirt and dungarees and now calls herself Trevor, not looking exactly like you'd hoped but still very fetching.
Well, you do not see this coppery gold colour until you compare it with 999.99 purity gold. It's the same case with Krugerrand. Sadly they have changed the alloy to be more copper and less silver - American Eagle is also not 999 gold but it's far more better looking because of silver they added to it.
I was wondering about the other metals and it occurred to me that surely an XRF machine would be able to define the other metals and their percentages.
@@stephenshanebeaty Yes, i think i was actually looking something else related to the jubilee and not the bullion sovereign. I see the 1oz platinum is a reasonable price here though.
From 1981 our pennies have very little copper in them mostly some kind of zinc alloy sad but our change now is like toy tokens that is why I am in love with older ones so dam sad
Gold sovereigns have been made from crown gold since the late 18th century. Crown gold consists of 22 parts gold and two parts copper. Hence them being 22crt, however I do understand what you're saying, the modern ones are very pinkish in colour, that's why I myself only buy Victorian or King George etc, but the alloy standard has always been the same. Only pure gold and copper are used, no other base metals..
The composition of them changed. Here's the info: www.chards.co.uk/guides/new-versus-old-sovereigns/123#:~:text=Older%20secondary%20market%20sovereigns%20were,copper%20as%20the%20main%20alloy.
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher interesting! Crown gold has always ( or used ) to compromise of 22 parts gold and two parts copper hence 22 crt. However Chards' know so much more than me and I would trust their judgement every time. I have a beautiful high grade bullion 1899 Perth mint sovereign from them, I love it.
Yeah, the copper looks cheap, looks more like a kruggerand. I like the color ok, just not on my coins. I’m paying for Gold and I want it to look the part.
They spoiled the sovereign. What's the point of getting a gold coin that looks like a copper coin. I not only looses the visual qualities of gold but it is also harder to convince anyone that it is indeed a gold coin in case you ever need to barter. With the old sovereigns you could sell it or exchange it for goods and services almost everywhere in the world as everyone could tell it is gold. This one is a joke. What a waste of gold.
wish I had a bucket full they are real 22c either way according to the royal mint I already have getting on 80 of the things right now please don't tell me I done my money
They sure are 22 carat. The newer ones just look more like copper though. I did wonder if they'd lose that look over time, but my 10 year old sovereigns still look like copper. That's one of the reasons I started buying Britannia's instead.
I like rose gold on some old jewellery but not on these coins, modern sovereigns are drab, and lacklustre, they put more effort into the aesthetics of some silver bullion coins, partly to stop counterfeiting, but with the colour of these and finish I think they could be faked more easily.
I only have 2 older, both Victoria, I love them but very pricey here. But so worth it for those 2 young queen and veiled I was offered a modern it was too rose gold looking for my taste, I’m a yellow gold girl 🤫😉
Yes, the newer ones just look horrible in my opinion. I have bought specific ones though. Like the India Sovereigns and more recently, those commemorating the change of monarchy.
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher if those were readily available here I would consider the special ones but sadly they are not huge premiums on just the regular, I have seen the special ones in pictures and they look cool
Wow, it looks like a ton of copper in that coin. The American Gold Eagle has some copper in it but still manages to look like gold instead of rose gold.
@@CyberCurtainTwitcher speaking as military man, I'm guessing copper is a much more cheaper composite compared to the original silver and other alloys. However as you've shown and we can see it's had rather a detrimental effect on the colour of the actual gold, I'm trying to avoid them like the plague.
It could be a great advantage having some coppery looking sovs 😎 The yellowy gold is my preference also. The more recent ones are apparently just copper and gold no silver alloyed in.