1893 Sydney Veiled Head Proof Gold Sovereign Ex Dangar Collection
This is the only example of this historic sovereign sighted in 70 years.
$75,000.00
1 In Stock
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1893 Sydney Veiled Head Proof Gold Sovereign Ex Dangar Collection
Obverse: Veiled Head of Victoria to left, legend around
Reverse: St George & Dragon, date and mintmark below
Diameter: 22.00mm | Weight: 7.99g | Purity: 91.67 | AGW: 0.2354 ozt
Provenance:
Ex Sydney Mint on date of manufacture - July 1st, 1893;
Ex H.C. Dangar collection; H.W. Dangar collection and Glendining auction - April 15th & 16th, 1953 (Lot 229);
Ex Spink Australia Sale 1 (October 1977), Lot 500;
Ex Spink Australia Sale 4 (November 1980), Lot 577;
Ex Noble Numismatics Sale 30 (November 1989), Lot 1321;
Ex KJC Coins Auction 1 (June 2005), Lot 810;
Ex IAG Auction 93 (March 2021), Lot 646.
This is the only example of this historic sovereign sighted in 70 years.
The 1893 Sydney Proof sovereign is a rare and historic coin - it exhibits technical characteristics that set it apart from gold coins struck for circulation by the Sydney Mint during this era, and may well be linked to the production of two of Australia’s most elusive gold coins - the 1893 Proof Gold Five and Two Pounds.
Lady Duff Cutting Out Discs from Fillets of Gold
Image Source: Sydney Mail 8/7/1893 via Trove
Only one example of the 1893 Sydney Proof sovereign has been seen on the open market since 1953. This coin was secured by one of Australia’s foremost numismatists during an exclusive ceremony on the day it was struck.
Special Production Ceremony - July 1st 1893
John MacDonald Cameron began his tenure as the Deputy Master of the Sydney Mint in May 1893, just months after the untimely death of his predecessor, Robert Hunt. MacDonald Cameron seems to have wanted to make an immediate impact in his new role, as the exclusive ceremony that launched production of the new designs took place less than 5 weeks after his arrival.
Henry Carey Dangar
Image Source: NSW State Parliament
To the degree that Thomas Brock put right the perceived wrongs of Boehm’s depiction of Queen Victoria, the new portrait of Her Majesty was welcomed by those in Sydney’s influential circles - upstanding citizens with firm opinions on the importance of image and reputation.
The unveiling of the new portrait of Queen Victoria enjoyed widespread media coverage after the event, not just within Sydney, but right across Australia. The Sydney Mint buildings were festooned with banners; official photographs were taken and exclusive mementoes were gifted. All of the pomp and ceremony of the occasion highlighted the importance of the change, the number and calibre of those in attendance affirmed the design aesthetic of the new portrait.
Newspapers of the day tell us this coin was struck in a special ceremony on Saturday July 1st 1893 by Lady Louisa Duff, wife of the NSW Governor. The very first two coins struck were gifted to the Vice-Regal couple by the Deputy Master of the Sydney Mint, who in turn immediately donated them to the National Art Gallery (now known as the Art Gallery of NSW).
Unfortunately for the people of NSW, those two coins were stolen in a robbery in December 1893 - contemporary media reports explain they were never recovered.
Provenance - Henry Carey Dangar MLC
The 1893 Sydney Proof Veiled Head sovereign hails from the estate of the NSW politician Henry Cary Dangar - he was a well-connected, wealthy and focused numismatist. The auction of Dangar’s collection is acknowledged as one of the most important Australian coin collections sold in the first half of the 20th century.
Dangar died in 1917, his son Horace William Dangar inherited his father’s collection. Horace William was one of Australia’s most senior military officers, he died in 1923. It is not yet known who inherited H.W. Dangar’s coin collection upon his death.
Horace WIlliam Dangar (Back Row, Centre)
Image Source: Australian War Memorial
The sale was held in London by Glendining across April 15th and 16th 1953, it contained a large number of incredibly rare coins from Australia, Britain and the ancient world.
First Sold in London in 1953 - Lot 229
Lot 229 in the Dangar collection was described as:
“Sydney Mint, Old Head Coinage, Sovereigns 1893 (2). Both brilliant.”
This sovereign (ex that pair) subsequently appeared in a Spink Australia auction in Sydney in 1977; then again in 1980 and in 1989; via a KJC auction in Sydney in 2005 and via an IAG auction on the Gold Coast in March 2021.
Across those six different auctions, the coin has variously been described as being “Brilliant”; “select Uncirculated”; “Proof-like gem”; “A brilliant proof-like specimen”; “Proof” and finally “proof-like”.
This is an incredible variation in written attributions, and although highly unusual is not unheard of when it comes to specially-struck coins that don’t neatly conform with the criteria that most numismatists expect from “proof” coins.
Clearly A Coin Apart
Dangar Collection Auction - Glendining, London 1953
With an incredibly sharp strike, a liquid appearance to the fields and a matte texture to the relief, the appearance of this coin shows it to be clearly different to a premium quality circulation strike.
Despite this undeniable superiority, the coin does not exhibit the fully-mirrored surfaces and deeply frosted relief that most collectors expect to see in a proof record coin. This is the cause of widespread mis-attribution seen over the past 4 decades when the coin has been offered for sale via auction.
We are pleased to report that following a physical inspection of this coin, staff at the Royal Mint Museum in Wales have authenticated the coin as a proof:
“The quality of strike is consistent with a proof sovereign struck at the Sydney branch mint, the field clearly being polished on both sides and the surface quality is very good. Under magnification it is possible to see that the Sydney mint mark has been quite crudely engraved. This is not, however, a reason to question the piece’s authenticity, particularly as the specifications and composition are consistent with a piece struck in Sydney. The quality of engraving can most likely be explained by the skills of the engraving department at Sydney who were responsible for creating the mint mark on the dies used to strike the coin.
A detailed comparison of the coin against records of other such pieces previously authenticated shows that this is the same coin that was examined and authenticated as genuine by the Royal Mint in November 1980.”
This independent authentication report, prepared by the ultimate authority on sovereigns of the British Commonwealth, when coupled with previous auction lot descriptions, confirms that this is the only example of this coin to be available to collectors since 1953.
It is worthy of the finest collection of Australian gold coins.
I can say that this coin had more coverage in the contemporary media than any other historic coin I've ever researched.
Click here to read our article that covers the background to this historic coin.
SKU: 25107
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| SKU | 25107 |
| Shipping Weight | 0.0500kg |
| Shipping Height | 0.001m |
| Assembled Length | 0.030m |
| Assembled Height | 0.001m |
| Assembled Width | 0.030m |
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