Michael asks: I have a 1865 Queen Aussie Victorian gold Sovereign with a Sidney Mint and crown reverse. It is graded from VF to XF. Today while looking through photos of coins on auction at EBAY I came across the same coin. The seller says that it is a scarce date. It was weird because I didn’t pay a premium for it as a scarce date, but only as a nice, decently graded type coin for my collection. Can you provide me with any information on this type and date. I am looking for things like total mintage, price, how many are thought of surviving today, and if it is actually scarce. I have tried to find books on gold sovereigns before but have had no success.
1865 Australia, Sidney Mint gold sovereigns are scarce. The coin features a young head Queen Victoria, her hair tied with a banksia wreath. The reverse shows SIDNEY MINT at top ONE SOVEREIGN at the bottom and crown and the AUSTRALIA within a wreath. The original mintage was 2,130,000. Many may have been melted for other purposes over the years.
Approximate value range in VF: US $300 – $350
Approximate value range in EF: US $1,500 – $2,000.