Lowell F. writes: I am a sometime collector of coins and I traded some of my excess for the following described gold coin. It is dated 1892 on the reverse and has a shield divided into 4 sections. It has the wrds BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID; DEF; . On the obverse side is the words VICTORIA DEI GRATIA with a bust of a portly women wearing a crown. This coin is approx the size of a penny. Would appreciate any help as to value and country of origin. As you may have guessed, I do not collect foreign coins, but its gold. Thankng you in advance. Lowell.
I assume when you describe the size as that of a “penny” that you mean a United States cent. Based on that, your coin is a 1892 Great Britain Shield 1/2 Sovereign. This coin was the equivalent to a Half Pound. The portrait is of Queen Victoria of England who reigned from 1837-1902. She holds the title of the longest reigning monarch in British history. The coin contains .1177 troy ounces of pure gold (multiply that number against the spot gold price to find the gold value. For example if gold is $1200/troy ounce the coin gold value is US$141.25).
There is numismatic value usually associated with this coin but condition (grade) plays a strong role in that part of the value. This coin was only minted at the London Mint. Value range: melt-$250.
