Victoria 1887 Sovereign, hooked J, MS61, DISH L1, ex Thorburn

Victoria (1837-1901), gold Sovereign, 1887, London, Jubilee style bust facing left, small crown and veil on head, J.E.B. initials close together in a straight line raised on truncation with hooked J, first abbreviated legend and toothed border surrounding, VICTORIA D:G: BRITT: REG: F:D:, the G: further from left side of crown, rev. St George and dragon right, horse with short tail, broken lance to left on ground-line, tiny WWP under lance, date in exergue, initials B.P. to upper right, weight 8.04g (DISH L1 R5; Hill 125 R5; Bull EGC 1319 R5; S.3866A). Toned with some light bagmarks and nicks both sides, has been slabbed and graded by NGC as MS61, extremely rare.

NGC Certification 8537537-004 with Thorburn Collection label.

The Latin legend translates as "Victoria by the grace of God, Queen of the Britons, Defender of the Faith."

The Royal Mint in London were very concerned about the quality of finish that would be obtained with the new Jubilee head design in 1887. They added silver to the metal mix, reducing the amount of copper in the alloy. The number of sovereigns actually minted was 1,657,067 but only 1,111,280 were issued, the remaining 33% being rejected for various reasons. There were also a vast number of dies used, 141 obverse and 114 reverse. The average number of sovereigns therefore produced per pair of dies for the year was extremely low at around 8,000. The likelihood is that the actual mintage figure for the very first coins minted, using these early obverse dies with the hooked J is even lower than this. Therefore, the mintage figure for this coin is currently estimated to be circa 6,305, or less than 0.75% of the year's output. See "The Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign 1887-1893" by David Iverson and the subsequent "The Iverson Collection" booklets for further information and tabulation of the relevant varieties.

Provenance:

Ex London Coins, Auction 125, 7^th June 2009, lot 1119.

Ex Thorburn 1887 Collection.