Home > 1865 Australian Sovereign Queen Victoria AU55
1865 Australian Sovereign Queen Victoria AU55
Product Description
1865 Australia Sovereign Queen Victoria PCGS graded AU55.
With the early bust of Queen Victoria (used on all the Sovereigns minted from 1837 to 1887) on the obverse and the reverse features a wreath design surrounding AUSTRALIA positioned below a crown with the legend SYDNEY MINT ONE SOVEREIGN encircling.
After the discovery of gold in Australia there was a shortage of British Gold coins due to the increasing wealth and population of the colony. A mint was established in Sydney to produce coins, and the Australian Sovereign was minted from 1855 until 1870, when the design was formally replaced with the same reverse as the ones minted in England (a crowned shield surrounded by a laurel wreath).
The 1865 is a relatively scarce date in the series, with 42 examples graded by PCGS in the upper VF to AU range, and only six mint state examples graded. This coin's AU55 places it in the finest 20 known examples.
The Sovereign contains 0.2354 Troy Oz of Gold, 22 karat (91.67%, alloyed with Copper). Total 1865 mintage was 2,300,000 but many were melted down after the Australian Sovereign was retired, to be re-issued with the British design.