Exquisite Collection of NGC-certified Australian Gold Rarities Featured in Upcoming Sale

Seven extraordinarily rare Australian gold coins from The Regent Collection, all certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company™ (NGC®), are being offered in a sale presented by Heritage Auctions on May 5, 2022. Online bidding is already underway for the Central States World Coins & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature Auction.

Some of the coins featured in the sale include:

One of the British Empire's Greatest Gold Rarities

With only six examples known, the Australia 1920S Sovereign is known as the rarest of all of that nation's issued sovereigns. This spectacular coin graded NGC MS 64+ (lot 30154) has been pedigreed to a private family collection, where it had been held for the last 100 years. It features a portrait of King George V on the obverse and St. George slaying the Dragon on the reverse. The highest example graded by NGC, this coin has an estimate of $400,000 to $500,000.

Australia 1920S Sovereign graded NGC MS 64+ Click images to enlarge.

Why is this particular date so rare? Experts suspect that as many as two-thirds of the reported 360,000 Sovereigns minted at Sydney in 1920 were actually dated 1919. And many of the 1920S Sovereigns were later melted down.

A spotlight on Sydney

Between the beginning of the gold rush in Australia in the early 1850s and the British legislative mandate to align all Australian gold issues with standard London issues in 1871, there was a brief period when coins were minted with a distinctive “Australian” flavor. These early issues were minted at the Royal Mint in London yet bore the words “SYDNEY MINT” and “AUSTRALIA” on their reverses as a way to differentiate them from the British sovereign. These early coins, intended only for use in New South Wales, also featured busts of Queen Victoria designed by cousins James and L.C. Wyon.

An Australia 1853 Gold Pattern Sovereign graded NGC PF 63 Ultra Cameo (lot 30151) has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It is believed to be unique in private hands; the other three are part of museum collections in the United Kingdom.

Australia 1853 Gold Pattern Sovereign graded NGC PF 63 Ultra Cameo Click images to enlarge.

The auction includes a second early Sydney Mint pattern coin: an Australia 1853 Gold Pattern Half Sovereign graded NGC PF 62 Ultra Cameo (lot 30148). It is also unique in private hands, with three other examples known to be housed in the British Museum and the Royal Mint Museum, Wales. This coin has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000 USD.

Australia 1853 Gold Pattern Half Sovereign graded NGC PF 62 Ultra Cameo Click images to enlarge.

Other Highlights of The Regent Collection

Other NGC-certified highlights in the sale include:

• an Australia 1856 Sovereign with a Plain Edge graded NGC PF 65★ Ultra Cameo (lot 30153), with an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000)
• an Australia 1856 Half Sovereign with a Plain Edge graded NGC PF 65+ Ultra Cameo (lot 30150) with an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000
• an Australia 1855 Half Sovereign graded NGC PF 66★ Cameo (lot 30149), with an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000
• an Australia 1855 Sovereign graded NGC PF 65 Ultra Cameo (lot 30152), with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000

All estimates are provided by the auction house.