Firstly I'm a total noob when it comes to buying and collecting coins so have no real references to compare to.
But basically I just went and bought a 2013 Gold Sovereign coin from 'Bullion By Post' and the coin arrived today.
It arrived very well packaged, the coin itself is held in small plastic round container, no certificates of any kind just a delivery receipt included.
Anyways, my concern is regarding the colour of the coin. Being 22 Carat, shouldn't it be pretty yellow, the typical shiny golden colour one would assume such coins to be?.
I guess I'm concerned about how genuine the coin is. As I have nothing to compare it to I don't know. Nor do I have any decent weighing scales though I plan to get some.
Anyways I've taken a few pictures to highlight the point. To me it seems a little too on the red/copper side to be 22K pure. Should I be concerned or is this completely normal? The look and finish of it is very good and it feels weighty in my hand for its size.
Here are the pics:
Comparing to old £1 coin and shiny 2012 1 pence coin
and finally comparing to a very pure gold ring I have which is soft enough to easily bend, this really highlights the difference:
..actually look at the pics myself I'm wondering if that £1 coin is a legit coin seems very rough! lol.
Anyways, do I have a legit Sovereign coin? thoughts please...
Just to add. The coin is supposed to be 1.52mm thick according to reseller websites and wikipedia. But I compared to a couple of 1 pence coins I have, a new one (1.65mm) and a pre 1992 one (1.52mm). The coin should be the same thickness as the old 1 pence coin, but its actually the same thickness as the new one, 1.65mm!.
Did they increase the thickness for the 2013 version? I've noticed a youtube vid someone else posted where he tested one with the Fisch test and it failed the thickness part.
Im not happy with the colour of that either. I've seen sovereigns and they do indeed look pretty darn golden. And if its too thick then somethings amiss. The Royal Mint doesn't release any old coin willy nilly (Cough cough US Mint) so I would expect it to be perfect. However, pinch of salt, I'm not rich enough to bother reading around about sovereigns and I'm by no means an authority on them. Id let others weigh in.
Personally, I would grab a 2012 Sovereign!
(oh, and looking at pictures of sovereigns some do appear slightly tinted)
Checking the dimensions are correct is probably the only way. Fakes of older sovereigns can usually be identified by weak features and so on but I don't know if that wisdom applies to the never stuff. Some big pictures would probably help anyway.
Yeah it's strange, I have seen some pics online which make it look darker, and others like the official Royal Mint website where they're very golden yellow. The 1 pence thickness comparison test also depends on just how worn those coins are, would need a proper micrometer really.
I suppose what I could do in short term is just take the coin to a local jewellery store and ask their opinion, to put my mind at ease. I should add I bought it from the Bullion By Post website, based in Manchester. One of the biggest UK Online sellers, would be very surprising and shocking if it did turn out to be fake!. I reckon it probably is genuine but, just want to be absolutely sure because of the colour.
For bigger pics, just click on the pictures above for original size :)
*edit* added new pic, close up angled desk spotlight on surface. When you take a pic like this you can really see the 3D detail on it, quite impressive!.
I am a bit suspicious of it cause if it dosent meet the dimensions of the others it could be a reproduction in another metal otherwise if you are going to buy bullion the new bullion coins are generally quite overpriced so if you are going to pursue this try and learn a bit about the older ones which tend to change hands at prices very close to the gold price.
Well generally if it is meant to be in Gold anything above the designated weight is immediately suspicous (I mean who would seriously put more gold into a coin than necessary) otherwise if it is of any other metal it generally is a few millimetres or grams off. Remember the Golden rule for gold if it is overwieght it probably isn't genuine more often than not. (btw the pun was intended )
The colour is normal. I've been collecting Gold Sovereigns since 2011 and I can promise you that the colour of your 2013 coin is perfectly normal. I own a 2011 proof sovereign and a 2012 bullion sovereign, both purchased directly from The Royal Mint (so I know they're genuine) and they're both the same colour as my 2013 sovereign which I purchased from BullionByPost. I can only assume that the gold is mixed with silver and that has created a faded yellow colour.
BullionByPost's website has been up and running since 2009. They've been been trading long enough that if they were doing anything dodgy someone would have noticed by now.
On that basis it's fair to say BullionByPost is a legit firm that wouldn't risk selling counterfeits. Your 2013 Sovereign is genuine.
I was incredibly suprised that they sent you a 22 carat gold coin and didnt include a certificate ! And the packaging seemed quite poor for that sort of coin . That is a bit concerning .
- another thing: if the weight and dimensions dont add up to what its supposed to be I think it warrants further serious investigation especially given the asking price of such coins ....
Far as I know, bullion coins don't get a box and certificate while proofs do. Now if you purchase a proof one without a Royal Mint box and certificate than I would be concerned.
I would not be concerned about a bullion coin in just a capsule as long as you buy from a well known dealer.
My mistake. The Gold Sovereign is indeed 11 parts gold and 1 part copper. I don't know why the colour is slightly off but all I can say is that the 2013 Sovereign isn't unique in this regard. As I said previously, I have sovereigns from 2011 and 2012 are the same colour.
As for the packaging, bullion coins sold by dealers are purchased wholesale from The Royal Mint so you shouldn't expect any special packaging or a certificate of authenticity.
Ok update on the situation. BullionByPost actually gave me a call. The guy explain that the Mint had made some changes to it this year, that it was a slightly darker redder colour. Also that the outer edge has been raised just a tiny fraction and that these changes have annoyed some of the coin collecting purists, but assured me that it was very much genuine and that they would buy it back and swap for another if I wasn't satisfied. Great response from a company to my email.
In the meantime I also had it weighed and its the correct weight so, yeah I'm totally happy its the genuine article now.
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Posted 04/05/2013 6:00 pm
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