Sell 1917 George V London Mint Sovereign
Rarest 20th-century London sovereign. Mintage 1,014,714, most melted for WWI debt. Values £10k–£36k+. Authentication checkpoints, fake alerts, auction data.
Typical UK collector & dealer range for circulated examples
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Zero seller fees. Insured UK courier or private London & Manchester appointment.
Market Valuation & Pricing Notes
Rarest 20th-century London sovereign. Nearly entire mintage melted for WWI gold-debt payments to the United States. Survival rate extremely low. Heavy counterfeit pressure: Allgold Coins estimates 10:1 fake-to-genuine ratio on online platforms. Professional grading (PCGS/NGC/CGS UK) essential for realising top-tier prices. Bullion floor ~£684 (Nov 2026 spot); numismatic premium dominates.
Physical Authentication Checkpoints
Our specialists verify these exact specifications when appraising your 1917 George V London Mint Sovereign:
- Weight: 7.988 g ± 0.020 g on calibrated jewellery scale
- Diameter: 22.05 mm ± 0.05 mm
- Specific gravity: 17.7 g/cm³ (definitive test for tungsten-core fakes)
- Magnetic test: 22-carat gold is non-magnetic; strong rare-earth magnet must show zero attraction
- Edge: fully milled (reeded), sharp, uniform, no seam or filing marks
- Obverse: Mackennal crowned bust left, legend GEORGIVS V D.G. BRITT: OMN: REX F.D. IND:IMP:, B.M. initials on truncation
- Reverse: Pistrucci St George & Dragon, date 1917 in exergue, B.P. initials upper right of exergue, NO mintmark on ground above date (London identifier)
- Die diagnostics: genuine pieces show characteristic die polish lines in shield area; known fake dies lack micro-detail in horse's tail and dragon's wing
Coin Specifications
- Catalogue ID
- 1917-gb-sov-london-gv
- Denomination
- Sovereign
- Issue Year
- 1917
- Rarity Tier
- Key Date Gold
- Mintage
- 1,014,714
- Weight
- 7.988 grams
- Metal Composition
- 22-carat gold (91.67% fine, 8.33% copper)
Common Fakes & Variant Confusion
Extensively counterfeited (est. 10:1 fake ratio on eBay). Common fakes: cast copies with soft detail, wrong weight (±0.2 g), magnetic cores, added mintmarks (S, M, P, I, SA, C) to mimic branch mints, tooling to simulate AU/UNC surfaces. Also confused with 1917 Melbourne (M), Perth (P), Sydney (S), and Ottawa (C) branch-mint issues which carry mintmarks and trade at bullion-plus premiums only. Genuine London 1917 has NO mintmark.
Best Ways to Sell Your 1917 George V London Mint Sovereign
Compare liquidation routes in the UK, or sell directly to Finacforce with zero auction commission.
Specialist numismatic auction (Spink, Baldwin's, Noonans, Heritage)
Highest realised prices for graded pieces; 15–20% hammer commission; 4–8 week settlement; expert cataloguing attracts serious collectors
Major UK coin dealers (Sovereign Rarities, Chard, Atkinsons, Baird & Co)
Immediate liquidity; lower offers (typically 10–20% under auction hammer); no commission; same-day settlement for slabbed coins
eBay UK (PCGS/NGC slabbed only)
Global reach; 12.8% final value fee + PayPal fees; high scam risk for raw coins; slabbed coins with TrueView images achieve near-auction prices
Private treaty via specialist broker
Discreet; negotiated price; no public record; requires trusted intermediary; slower than auction
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1879 Victoria Young Head St George Sovereign London Mint
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