Rare 1/2 Sovs
Private
Updated:
1/11/2026
Views: 618
Since my main collecting interest is full sovereigns and half sovs are just a minor diversion, I've decided not to pursue putting together as much of a complete set as possible. Instead, for this category I'm only going to collect half sovs produced by the Royal Mint that are classified as Rare according to the Marsh/Hill 2021 scale (R to R7).
For those who may not be familiar with the Marsh/Hill rarity scale, here are the descriptions:
R = Rare
R2 = Very Rare (less than 100 examples estimated to exist)
R3 = Extremely Rare (less than 50 examples estimated to exist)
R4 = 11 to 20 examples estimated to exist
R5 = 5 to 10 examples estimated to exist
R6 = 3 or 4 examples known
R7 = 1 or 2 examples known
Since 2/3 of the half sovs minted in London (58 of 89) are quite commonly found, this particular category will never include very many coins for me. However, if all unusual varieties are counted there are eighteen Ultra Rare coins (R4 to R7), and it will be a challenge to acquire all of them.
Here is the list, with associated Marsh number and Rarity. "x" denotes a coin already obtained (several not yet graded):
1818/7 M401B R5
x1848/7 M422A R4
x1862 M436 R5
x1863 Die# M439 presumed R4
x1870 No Dot M445A R4
x1871 No Dot M446A R4
1871 No Die# M438 R6
x1872 1/inv1 M447A R4
1876 No Die# M438A Unique
x1879 M454 R4
x1885/3 M459A R4
x1887 L502 M478A R5
x1887 L503 M478B R5
x1887 L504 M478C R6
x1887 L505 M478D R6
1887 L506 M478E R6
x1891 Hi Shd M480A R7
1892 Hi Shd M481B R6
Special Note: Of the remaining five coins that I'm missing, I'm most anxious to get the 1892 High, since I'm trying to put together the most complete set of DISH 1/2 sov varieties ever assembled. Since it's so insanely rare (R6), I thought I would see if PCGS had any that I could look out for. I was completely shocked to see that they "claim" to have certified 20 examples of this coin for which Marsh/Hill estimate only one handful actually are known. As usual, PCGS shows 3 of the best examples graded, and all 3 are really the very common Low Shield. Just more proof that when it comes to assigning varieties, the PCGS graders are completely incompetent, and should NEVER be trusted....
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Update July 2025: In a recent highly detailed article analyzing the use of die numbers on gold half sovereigns that was published in the blog of the British Numismatic Society by Brian Unsworth, he mentioned that no example of the 1871 No Die coin (Marsh 438) has yet been certified by either NGC or PCGS. And there is only one known example of the 1876 No Die coin (Marsh 438A), which was originally sold at the Reserve Bank of Australia sale in 2005 and resold in 2011. So, at this time there is absolutely NO CHANCE that I will be able to obtain either of these items from the above listing. I have changed the rarity on M438A from R6 to Unique to reflect this new info.
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Despite the limited size of this set, I'm still going to keep it registered just to provide a few pix and commentaries on some of the more elusive items that I'm able to find.
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Rare 1/2 Sovs
By Cozdred
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