1994 Elizabeth II Gold Proof £2 Error Coin25th Nov 2020 | Error Coin The Royal Mint has made a bit of an 'ass' of itself - and produced a mule! The Muled coins obverse resembles a Double Sovereign, perhaps from a previous year, and you will see it has no denomination (Two pounds), a larger portrait and the different writing around the outside. Otherwise the same as the intended £2 gold proof coin (pictured at the bottom of the article). “Only 1,000 of these gold strikings were issued by the Royal Mint in 1994 to celebrate the Bank of England's 300th anniversary having been founded in the reign of William and Mary (1688-94). It was only when customers received their freshly minted coins in 1994 that the mistake upon the coin was noticed in that the wrong obverse die had been used in error. Rather than the regular "Two Pounds" obverse with those denominational words under the bust being used, a number of examples had no denomination mentioned at all, the obverse being that used on the St George and dragon reverse Double Sovereigns. The Royal Mint having been made aware of the error pieces wrote to all customers who had ordered the coins asking them to return their error pieces for a free replacement with the correct obverse.
Mule or Error 1994 Gold Proof £2 It is not known how many of the 1,000 struck carried the error obverse, or how many customers took up the free offer to opt for a replacement. Perhaps as many as half the issue were of the wrong obverse, but probably less and most were no doubt replaced with the error piece being melted down. There are only 6 NGC top graded examples, two of which were sold by Sovereign Rarities (who we thank for the details above) and another example which sold well through auction site Heritage in 2019. Clearly the coin remains highly sought after and rare according to Heritage’s description of the coin for that auction... “A technically perfect and very rare Mule, bearing the traditional Double Sovereign obverse as opposed to the correct Two Pounds obverse. An unknown number of these pieces were issued by the Royal Mint, after which the Mint sent out letters asking for their recall. Due to the quality control measures implemented for gold coinage, such errors are very seldom made and are accordingly very rare.“ In addition to the now 6 NGC 70 graded mules, there are two further examples graded 70 by PCGS, although it would have been easier to confirm this if they had kept the 1994 mule and corrected £2 separately and correctly listed. Both of these two PCGS graded examples sold at auctions this year, the highest of which sold for £7,000.
Correct or intended 1994 Gold Proof £2 A truly 'striking' error coin! Interested in owning one? 1817.co.uk | The Modern Sovereign Collector
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Victoria & Albert BUSOD 200th Anniversary11th November 2019 | Special Releases 
This year, for the 200th anniversary of her birth, the Royal Mint celebrated Queen Victoria and the progress and achievements that came during her reign. But it is impossible to think of Victoria without Albert, such was his support and influence throughout their happy marriage. In history, they are inseparable and now the time has come to mark the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s birth. On 24 May 2019 – exactly 200 years after the birth of Queen Victoria – a very special run of just 650 Sovereigns were issued in honour of the popular monarch. These coins carry the royal cypher used by Queen Victoria during her reign, setting them apart from all other recent Sovereign coins. On 26 August 2019 - exactly 200 years after the birth of Prince Albert’s - another special run of just 650 Sovereigns were issued in honour of the popular Prince. Each coin featured a privy mark inspired by Victoria and Albert’s dual cypher which was created just for this event – their initials forever entwined in an everlasting tribute. The two coins together make an outstanding companion set. Both are struck in a Brilliant Uncirculated Matte finish and when they each went on sale at the Royal Mint, they sold out in under 2 minutes! These surely will be treasures for the future with such low mintages and remain difficult to obtain, they both command significant premiums over their initial launch price, but are surely still worth the investment to own a piece of Royal history. 1817.co.uk | Yorkshire's finest collector of modern gold SovereignsThe elusive 1937 gold Sovereign6th May 2019 | Key Date Coins Although the reign lasted from 1936 – 1952, no circulation gold Sovereigns were issued bearing the bust of George VI during his reign. In fact, the only Sovereigns minted were a specimen set containing the quintuple (£5) double (£2) Sovereign and half Sovereign dated 1937 with a mintage of just 5,501 sets. These plain edge proof Sovereigns are coveted by collectors and can, in great condition, be highly collectable.  The artist for the obverse was Humphrey Paget who was provided with a personal sitting by the King and the reverse features St George slaying the Dragon by Benedetto Pistrucci. Although no currency Sovereigns were issued during the reign bearing the bust of George VI, there were Sovereigns issued bearing the bust of George V and all were dated 1925. The following dates and mintages were issued: 1949 138,000 1951 318,000 1952 430,000 In addition to the above 1937 plain edge proof gold Sovereigns, there are a few examples of a Matt proof with an unknown mintage and these are extremely rare. If you have a 1937 set or individual coins and would consider selling, we'd love to hear from you, our contact details are here. 1817.co.uk | Yorkshire's finest collector of modern gold SovereignsThe five 'special reverse' gold Sovereigns16th April 2019  The 20 shillings Sovereign was first issued during the reign of Henry VII. However, the modern Sovereign was introduced as currency by Royal Proclamation on 1 July 1817. It featured a new reverse design by Italian engraver and medallist, Benedetto Pistrucci, which depicted St George and the dragon and was deliberately intended to make the coin as distinctive as possible. This beautiful, classic design remains on gold Sovereigns today and is considered to be one of the world’s most widely recognised coins. In 200 years, the reverse has rarely changed, with only a handful of designs appearing on The Sovereign since 1817. That said, there have been some unique and beautiful 'special reverses' which have featured on modern gold sovereigns. The Fab Five in Detail
If you own any of the 'special reverse' designs we're always interested in adding to our collection, you can find out more here. 1817.co.uk | Yorkshire's finest collector of modern gold Sovereigns |
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