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October 13, 2022 6:02 AM Subscribe
UK. Who/where/how do I sell a gold sovereign without getting fleeced?
I need to raise a bit of cash. I have a George V gold sovereign (London minted) and I'm considering selling it. However, I don't trust the pages Google is finding for me. They all seem a bit scammy.
What is the best way to sell the coin in the UK without being ripped off?
I need to raise a bit of cash. I have a George V gold sovereign (London minted) and I'm considering selling it. However, I don't trust the pages Google is finding for me. They all seem a bit scammy.
What is the best way to sell the coin in the UK without being ripped off?
Ask on the r/coins subreddit: they are a cheerfully nerdy group, and folks often show up asking very similar questions to yours.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:24 AM on October 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 6:24 AM on October 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
At a bare minimum, the gold content seems to be worth about 345 if I did my gold price and weight of the coin (gold in the coin) math right. If a shop is giving you melt/scrap gold prices (they plan to melt it down and make gold bars, or just bulk trade gold by weight) they give the melt price. In the USA it's pretty standard that means minus ten percent. Also my information on that isn't completely current or for the right country, so take that with a grain of salt.
The coin possibly has value as a coin for collecting, but that depends on condition, condition, condition and date on the coin. With a London mint mark, 1916 and 17 are desirable, with all the other numbers being pretty common. Even with a common number, very good condition can be a price multiplier. If it's worn, obviously used, etc, the odds are much closer to getting the melt value. (345 ish - 10% for about 310.) If anyone is offering significantly less than at least 300, I'd be concerned.
In general, I find most dedicated physical coin shops are fairly reliable... Reputation is important for legitimate dealers. If you walk into a store, most staff will be happy to discuss the coin with you. But do check in with the subreddit linked above, they are a good source as well. I'm definitely not a professional numismatist and did quick research, so I'm not guaranting this answer, but I think it's a pretty reasonable first approximation. There is also a chance that the coin is a forgery of some sort, which happens, unfortunately.
posted by Jacen at 8:41 AM on October 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
The coin possibly has value as a coin for collecting, but that depends on condition, condition, condition and date on the coin. With a London mint mark, 1916 and 17 are desirable, with all the other numbers being pretty common. Even with a common number, very good condition can be a price multiplier. If it's worn, obviously used, etc, the odds are much closer to getting the melt value. (345 ish - 10% for about 310.) If anyone is offering significantly less than at least 300, I'd be concerned.
In general, I find most dedicated physical coin shops are fairly reliable... Reputation is important for legitimate dealers. If you walk into a store, most staff will be happy to discuss the coin with you. But do check in with the subreddit linked above, they are a good source as well. I'm definitely not a professional numismatist and did quick research, so I'm not guaranting this answer, but I think it's a pretty reasonable first approximation. There is also a chance that the coin is a forgery of some sort, which happens, unfortunately.
posted by Jacen at 8:41 AM on October 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Hatton Garden in London has several gold dealers where you can buy and sell gold at a very good price.
posted by Lanark at 11:29 AM on October 13, 2022
posted by Lanark at 11:29 AM on October 13, 2022
I had valued and then sold some wartime Jersey (Channel Islands) banknotes at auction through London Coins, their service was excellent throughout. A search on their site for sovereign + year should help you find recent auction prices and may tip you off if there are any rare, higher valued mintings from the year of your coin to be aware of.
posted by protorp at 12:08 PM on October 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by protorp at 12:08 PM on October 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
In fact looking back over communication, London Coins advised me before any commitment to sell that 2 quite tatty "Bradbury" Bank of England 1 pound / 10 shilling treasury notes, which were alongside the pristine and superficially more unusual Jersey notes that my grandfather had kept for decades in a "worth something someday" envelope, were actually from quite scarce printing series and worth putting up for auction individually. They ended up going for 3 - 4 times the usual for those notes.
As a completely ignorant seller that obviously inspired a deal of confidence in their appraisal service, which they were able to do remotely from photos.
posted by protorp at 12:34 PM on October 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
As a completely ignorant seller that obviously inspired a deal of confidence in their appraisal service, which they were able to do remotely from photos.
posted by protorp at 12:34 PM on October 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
I worked in a bullion shop pre-pandemic. Like several people above mentioned, we based our melt prices on the spot price of gold. As circulating coins, most of the sovereigns we saw were in such bad shape that we paid the melt value- in our case that was based on what our wholesaler paid us- we made a couple percent on those transactions. Sovereigns are "crown gold"- that is, they are a 22 karat alloy which is 91.667% gold. Melt price will be for just under 92% of the weight of you sovereign. So something like 91.667 x 7.98 grams x melt price (around 90% of the spot price in our case).
If your coin is nice enough and rare enough then there will be a price based on the collectible value instead of the spot price. If it's very very good they will probably advise you to have it graded to realize the best price.
Look for people who are transparent about pricing and can tell you exactly how they do the math. Be aware that spot prices change minute-to-minute, and what you might be paid in the morning could change by afternoon. Also: do not clean your coin! That's the fastest way to remove value from nice coins.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:21 PM on October 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
If your coin is nice enough and rare enough then there will be a price based on the collectible value instead of the spot price. If it's very very good they will probably advise you to have it graded to realize the best price.
Look for people who are transparent about pricing and can tell you exactly how they do the math. Be aware that spot prices change minute-to-minute, and what you might be paid in the morning could change by afternoon. Also: do not clean your coin! That's the fastest way to remove value from nice coins.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:21 PM on October 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
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A quick look revealed Chards, who appear to have been in this business a fair amount of time and also appear to be quite reputable.
Comparing their price of this coin to a dealer that I have done business with previously, looks to be favorable.
posted by wile e at 6:13 AM on October 13, 2022