PREVIEW: BRITISH & WORLD COINS 7 & 8 JUNE

When Britain left the gold standard in 1931, the rising price of gold meant that the melt value of coins risked outstripping their face value. The result was that gold coinage all but disappeared among new issues.

When King George VI came to the throne, however, keeping with tradition the Royal Mint made an exception: this Proof set of four to mark the 1937 Coronation.

 

Created by Humphrey Paget, the portrait was used throughout the King’s reign and can be seen here on the £5, £2, Sovereign and Half Sovereign that comprise the set. As with the previous reigns dating back to George III, when Sovereigns were first introduced, the reverse carries the image of St George as designed by Benedetto Pistrucci.

The coins diminish in size according to value: the £5 has total gold weight of 39.94 grams, the £2 is 15.98 grams total gold, the Sovereign 7.98 grams, and the Half Sovereign 3.99 grams, giving a total gold weight for the set of 67.89 grams.

In all, just over 5,500 sets were struck for this issue.

“Single coins from the set are much sought after by collectors, so a complete set in ‘about as struck’ condition is bound to cause a stir among bidders,” said Noonans’ Special Projects Director (Numismatics), Peter Preston-Morley.

The estimate is £10,000-12,000.