{"product_id":"1864-victoria-shield-sovereign-ngc-au58-die-number-3-ex-bentley-collection","title":"1864 Victoria Shield Sovereign NGC AU58 – Die Number 3, Ex Bentley Collection","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrade tells you the surface. Provenance tells you the story.\u003c\/strong\u003e This 1864 shield sovereign carries both: certified NGC AU58 with genuine mint lustre remaining, struck from a reverse die individually numbered \"3\" as part of the Royal Mint's short-lived quality-control experiment, and previously housed in the Bentley Collection — one of the most important assemblages of British sovereigns ever formed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGreat Britain, London Mint\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStruck at the Royal Mint in London, this sovereign carries no branch mint mark. The obverse shows the Young Head portrait of Queen Victoria by William Wyon; the reverse is the crowned shield design by Jean Baptiste Merlen, struck throughout the London, Sydney and Melbourne mints from 1838 to 1887.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDie Number 3\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing a run of quality-control failures in 1861 and 1862, the Royal Mint began stamping a small number beneath the tied bow on the reverse die of shield sovereigns from 1863, allowing individual dies to be tracked and faulty batches identified. The practice was abandoned by 1874 once it became clear the numbers were of more use to counterfeiters than to the Mint. Die number 3 for 1864 is a confirmed, catalogued variety — part of the die series painstakingly researched and recorded by Michael Marsh and, later, the very collection this coin comes from.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEx Bentley Collection\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis coin was formerly part of the Bentley Collection, assembled over 34 years from 1978 to 2012 and widely regarded as one of the finest and most complete collections of British milled sovereigns ever formed — including a near-complete run of Victorian die number varieties. The collection was dispersed at auction by A.H. Baldwin \u0026amp; Sons, and pieces carrying its provenance are sought after by collectors for the pedigree alone, independent of grade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGrade \u0026amp; Condition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNGC AU58 — About Uncirculated, retaining strong original lustre with only light friction on the highest points. A 160-year-old sovereign of this quality, with this pedigree, was never going to be chasing a modern top-pop slot — its value lies in the history and the paper trail behind it, not a registry ranking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGrade\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNGC AU58\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMint\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLondon (no mint mark)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMonarch\/Portrait\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVictoria, Young Head\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eReverse\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eShield (Merlen), Die Number 3\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eProvenance\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEx Bentley Collection\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDiameter\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e22.05mm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e7.98g\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFineness\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e22 carat (.9167)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGold content\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e0.2354 troy oz\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTax Status\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs UK legal tender, this sovereign is \u003cstrong\u003e100% VAT-free\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eexempt from Capital Gains Tax\u003c\/strong\u003e under HMRC manual CG78308.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ngccoin.uk\/certlookup\/4728106-001\/58\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1864 G.BRITAIN 1SOV\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal Mint","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":60135383957838,"sku":"1864-victoria-shield-sovereign-ngc-au58-die-number-3-bentley","price":1060.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0853\/9370\/3246\/files\/1864-shield-sovereign-au58.webp?v=1784106808","url":"https:\/\/www.sovaracoins.com\/products\/1864-victoria-shield-sovereign-ngc-au58-die-number-3-ex-bentley-collection","provider":"Sovara Coins LTD","version":"1.0","type":"link"}