Haven

Of course I'd be happy to help where I can. My overview is based on the 2021 edition, yes @BRIAN GREER

I have the Michael Marsh book and often look at a few different resources for info on sovereigns, but it often involves a lot of flicking through pages and Google searches etc to find the info I'm looking for. Also I found it hard to keep track of the info when it is spread across several pages, e.g. comparing mintages from different branches for a given year. I thought it would be useful to have the information displayed graphically as a kind of "overview" with the main info at a glance. Such a resource may well already exist but I thought I would make one for my own use anyway and learn while I'm doing it. Then I thought why not share it with the community for feedback, input and ideally to be a help to others. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/156gWOBDS2n4f7P3ChMSJNIOgSnjLYqZxQuWv0mGCwYw/edit?usp=sharing The spreadsheet concentrates on changes in design (e.g. portraits and different reverses and mint marks) but ignores minor varieties etc. All the mintage figures are as per Marsh. Mints are colour coded. I will move on to proofs, halfs, doubles and £5s in time. Let me know of any errors or any comments and suggestions please 😄 Please could I request members not to share this link beyond the community right now.

Regarding half sovereigns, according to Marsh, 1982 was the only year that normal halfs were minted with the Machin portrait. There were 2.5million minted in 1982 compared to over 90 million minted between 1893 and 1915!

You don't see a lot of Machins in general bullion circulation in my experience. I recently got a handful in and they flew out again so fast I made a note to put up prices a bit higher next time! When you compare the official mintages (whether these are to be trusted or not I know not) there are around 37 million for the Machin portrait compared to 315 million of George V, and while more of the GVs will by now have been melted down, I'm sure they still vastly outnumber the Machins. Until recently I assumed the portrait by Arnold Machin was the same as his portrait on the stamp (the most reproduced artwork in history), but in fact they are distinctly different, not least as the portraits face different directions! I prefer the Machin portrait to the Gillick portrait, which I find a bit "soft", but not sure if that's down to the engraving or the strike.