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I personally wouldn't have a coin that worn in my collection for any reason, unless it was of a rarity of R6/R7 perhaps.

There is a difference between cleaned and polished. Cleaned usually means it has been wiped leaving parallel scratch lines. Anything more drastic is usually obvious and they will also use the designation "harshly cleaned" if it has been dipped in something caustic. A polished coin is usually obvious if you are used to looking at "clean" struck sovereigns. You can clearly see this effect in the second last photo above. Coins that have spent some time as a pendant will often have this polished effect and the fine detail is usually rubbed smooth.

If they look as though they have a fair chance of grading 70 then £1500+ is reasonable.

I don't take much notice in post-Gillick sovereigns but I would say you are probably right, I don't think they appear as often. Regarding bullion sovereign mintages you see quoted, they seem to be totally inaccurate.

Doubles don't often sell for much more than spot I don't think, though this year and a few others would be clear exceptions. I guess yes it would be the best value way to get the date into your collection, but then is your collection going to be doubles? 🙂

Nothing changed for me since Brexit, maybe for Paris yes but for US things have always been the same. I agree with turnaround times in general but that's because the market has grown in the last 2 years and the businesses need more time to grow, which they are every day.

Afternoon! I am by no means an expert on branch mint halves! I have consider branching out (forgive the pun) to collect these little beauties but stopped myself because I need to first complete my London coins first! However, I can answer some points below. First though, I must admit that I have the fairly easy to come by 1925 and 1926 SA halves. Two recent versions in beautiful condition were sent to PCGS for restoration last month so can update on those if there is interest! So I have already started to not just think outside of London….. As for the 1897 Sydney, this is what I can see from my books and other brief research: 1. Marsh First Edition (see pic) confirms ‘Not known’. Published in 1982. 2. Marsh Second Edition (see pic) confirms ‘Not known’. Published 2004. 3. Marsh/Hill ‘The Gold Sovereign’ (see pic) confirms three possible versions 503, 503A and 503B (Proof). Published 2021. So, as is the case with all research combined with societal and technological changes making obtaining and reviewing coins easier - more is being discovered. The 2021 Marsh/Hill is the place to concentrate and first check which coin it is that you have. You may also want to get some high resolution pics taken so someone can count the denticles!! If you can post pics we can have a look and see whether it’s a 503, 503A or 503B (incidentally, these are just the Marsh references for the coins). Cheers, Andrew.

https://auction.royalmint.com/auctions/catalog/id/23 Is this just another gimmick by the RM? Curious as to how they differ if at all from normal strikes, does anyone know more? I imagine they could just be selling bullion as trial pieces knowing them! 😄