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Posted 10/22/2017 10:37 pm
There are a HUGE number of fakes of sovereigns in excellent quality gold. A very large proportion of these were manufactured in Lebanon. In fact, some of them were made in purer than 22ct gold!
They all used to be used for private payment between individuals in the Middle East. The problem was that the purity of the gold, although very good, is variable.
This situation threatened the reputation of the sovereign for international payments.
Some of the lightweight coins found their way into the vaults of the Bank of England, and they needed to be replaced with genuine coin.
The situation got so bad that the the British Government had to respond, and so flooded the market with genuine sovereigns, all dated 1925, but in fact, they were all struck after World War 2.
They all used to be used for private payment between individuals in the Middle East. The problem was that the purity of the gold, although very good, is variable.
This situation threatened the reputation of the sovereign for international payments.
Some of the lightweight coins found their way into the vaults of the Bank of England, and they needed to be replaced with genuine coin.
The situation got so bad that the the British Government had to respond, and so flooded the market with genuine sovereigns, all dated 1925, but in fact, they were all struck after World War 2.
