{"product_id":"queen-victoria-effigies-half-sovereign-set-young-head-jubilee-head-old-head","title":"Queen Victoria Effigies Half Sovereign Set – Young Head, Jubilee Head \u0026 Old Head","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne woman, three faces, and two details most three-portrait sets don't have.\u003c\/strong\u003e This boxed set brings together one half sovereign from each of Queen Victoria's three coinage portraits — Young Head, Jubilee Head and Old Head — across three coins: 1872, 1892 and 1900. It captures the only reverse design change the half sovereign saw during her entire 64-year reign, and along the way turned up an individually numbered die variety and a genuine branch-mint rarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThree Portraits, One Reign\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrowned at just eighteen, Victoria's first coinage portrait was the \u003cstrong\u003eYoung Head\u003c\/strong\u003e, designed by William Wyon RA and used from 1838 to 1886. This set's 1872 half sovereign carries that portrait on the obverse, paired with the crowned shield reverse by J.B. Merlen — and is individually die-numbered \u003cstrong\u003e372\u003c\/strong\u003e, stamped between the rose and the wreath at the base of the shield. The Royal Mint numbered reverse dies on half sovereigns between 1863 and 1880 as an internal quality-control measure, letting individual dies be tracked; each numbered die is its own documented variety among collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo mark her Golden Jubilee in 1887, the Royal Mint introduced Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm's \u003cstrong\u003eJubilee Head\u003c\/strong\u003e. Unlike the full sovereign, the half sovereign kept its shield reverse through this change — this set's 1892 coin still carries the Merlen-style crowned shield, not St George.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eOld Head\u003c\/strong\u003e, also known as the Veiled Head, followed in 1893 — Thomas Brock RA's portrait of an older Victoria in crown and veil, struck until her death in 1901. This was the year the half sovereign finally switched reverse too: this set's 1900 coin carries Benedetto Pistrucci's St George and the Dragon. It's also a \u003cstrong\u003eSydney Mint\u003c\/strong\u003e issue, carrying the small \"S\" mint mark — Sydney struck just 260,000 half sovereigns in 1900, a fraction of London's output that year, and well-preserved examples are genuinely scarce.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003ePresentation\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSupplied boxed as a three-coin set. Coins are in genuinely circulated, collector-grade condition rather than third-party graded — this set is about completing the portrait and design story across a reign, not chasing a registry grade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications (each coin)\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDenomination\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHalf Sovereign\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDiameter\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e19.30mm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3.99g\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 (each)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e0.1177 troy oz\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTotal gold content (set of 3)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e0.3531 troy oz\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCoins in This Set\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1872\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eYoung Head (William Wyon RA) \/ Shield reverse (J.B. Merlen) \/ London \/ Die number 372\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1892\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eJubilee Head (Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm) \/ Shield reverse \/ London\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1900\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOld Head \/ Veiled Head (Thomas Brock RA) \/ St George \u0026amp; the Dragon (Benedetto Pistrucci) \/ Sydney Mint (S) \/ Mintage 260,000\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eTax Status\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs UK legal tender, every coin in this set is \u003cstrong\u003e100% VAT-free\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eexempt from Capital Gains Tax\u003c\/strong\u003e under HMRC manual CG78308 — the exemption applies equally to the Sydney Mint 1900 coin, exactly as it does to the two London-struck pieces.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal Mint","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":60191016124750,"sku":"queen-victoria-effigies-half-sovereign-set-1872-1892-1900","price":1360.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0853\/9370\/3246\/files\/queen-victoria-effigies-set-half-sovereigns.webp?v=1784716346","url":"https:\/\/www.sovaracoins.com\/products\/queen-victoria-effigies-half-sovereign-set-young-head-jubilee-head-old-head","provider":"Sovara Coins LTD","version":"1.0","type":"link"}