George V 1917 Sovereign, London, Rarest 20th Century London Sovereign

George V (1910-36), gold Sovereign, 1917, London, bare head left, B.M. on truncation, GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT: OMN: REX F.D. IND: IMP:,rev.struck en médaille, St George slaying dragon with sword, WWP under lance, no mint letter on ground-line, date in exergue, B.P. to upper right of exergue (Bentley 363; Marsh 219; MCE 645; S.3996).Toned has been slabbed and graded genuine by NGC as details cleaned, however we cannot see any true evidence of cleaning in the toning which is a little streaky, the coin exhibits surface marks and nicks from some circulation but is preserved in practically extremely fine condition and the rarest Sovereign of the 20^th Century London series due to a very low survival rate.

NGC certification

Upon further questioning with NGC they think there is evidence of a light cleansing in the area around the word GEORGIVS and though there is a colour difference to the tone contrast in that raised word compared to the surrounding flat background field, we believe it harsh to have concluded this was evidence of cleaning on what is a typically toned lightly circulated coin and an extreme rarity. The Royal Mint Museum's researcher Mr Chris Barker recently delivered part one of an excellent lecture on the scarcity of some of the sovereigns of the earlier war years and what occurred in World War II with payments in gold, and why Sovereigns were later issued in the reign of George VI with the George V design of 1925. This lecture can be watched at the British Numismatic Society website via You Tube here Chris Barker, 'In case of emergency': the return of sovereign production after the Second World War - YouTube

Calendar Year Mintage 1,014,714

The Latin legends translates on obverse as "George the Fifth by the Grace of God, King of all the Britons, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India."

Despite the calendar year mintage of over one million pieces there are scant few survivors of the 1917 London issue and it is also one of the most widely faked London mint Sovereigns, this piece is of course guaranteed to be one of the genuine survivors. This date is one of the most in demand being the last of the World War I years.